Revised Loan Volume Requirements for the Preferred Lender Program and the Certified Lender Program, 13682-13684 [2024-03687]

Download as PDF 13682 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Notices DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request; Correction The Department of Agriculture has submitted the following information collection requirement(s) to OMB for review and clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104–13. Comments are requested regarding: whether the collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information will have practical utility; the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or other forms of information technology. Comments regarding this information collection received by March 25, 2024 will be considered. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function. An agency may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to the collection of information that such persons are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 National Agricultural Statistics Service Title: Conservation Practice Adoption Motivations Survey—Substantive Change. OMB Control Number: 0535–0272. Summary of Collection: The Department of Agriculture published a document in the Federal Register on February 6, 2024, 89 FR 8142 concerning a request for comments for the substantive change request on the Information Collection ‘‘Conservation Practice Adoption Motivations Survey’’ OMB control number 0535–0272. In this FRN, it was stated Comments regarding VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Feb 22, 2024 Jkt 262001 these information collections are best assured of having their full effect if received by March 7, 2024. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted, identified by docket number 0535–0272, within 30 days of the publication of this notice by any of the following methods: • Email: ombofficer@nass.usda.gov. Include docket number above in the subject line of the message. • E-fax: 855–838–6382. • Mail: Mail any paper, disk, or CD– ROM submissions to: Richard Hopper, NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250– 2024. • Hand Delivery/Courier: Hand deliver to: Richard Hopper, NASS Clearance Officer, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Room 5336 South Building, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–2024. That statement needs to be corrected to state, ‘‘Comments regarding these information collections are best assured of having their full effect if received by March 7, 2024. Written comments and recommendations for the proposed information collection should be submitted within 30 days of the publication of this notice on the following website www.reginfo.gov/ public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular information collection by selecting ‘‘Currently under 30-day Review—Open for Public Comments’’ or by using the search function. Levi S. Harrell, Departmental Information Collection Clearance Officer. [FR Doc. 2024–03739 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410–20–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Farm Service Agency [Docket ID FSA–2023–0023] Revised Loan Volume Requirements for the Preferred Lender Program and the Certified Lender Program Farm Service Agency, USDA. Notice of eligibility criteria. AGENCY: ACTION: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces the revised loan volume eligibility criteria for existing lenders participating in the Preferred Lender Program (PLP) for FSA guaranteed loans or who have recently participated in PLP but lost that status due to loan volume requirements and SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 wish to reapply. Due to decreased loan demand, many former PLP lenders, who would have otherwise been expected to have renewed their PLP status, have been unable to qualify for the renewal of their status in PLP within the past 5 years due solely to loan volume requirements. This document applies lower loan volume eligibility criteria to PLP lenders who renew their PLP status and to former PLP lenders who reapply for PLP status after losing that status because they were unable to renew due solely to decreased loan volume within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of this notice. FSA also announces the revised loan volume eligibility criteria for all lenders participating in the Certified Lender Program (CLP) for FSA guaranteed loans due to the same decreased loan demand discussed previously. This document applies less restrictive loan volume eligibility criteria to all lenders currently participating in the CLP program and lenders applying to participate in the CLP program. DATES: Applicable date: February 23, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew T. Henderson; telephone: (202) 720–5847; email: matthew.henderson2@ usda.gov. Individuals who require alternative means for communication should contact the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Target Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and text telephone (TTY)) or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay service (both voice and text telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Background FSA’s PLP provides qualifying lenders additional authorities and streamlined procedures under the FSA guaranteed farm loan programs. In accordance with the criteria specified in 7 CFR 762.106(c)(3), lenders who participate in the PLP must meet minimum loan volume thresholds that are established by FSA and published in a notice in the Federal Register. On May 5, 1999 (64 FR 24132), FSA established the current PLP loan volume threshold of 20 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years. Also, 7 CFR 762.106(c)(1) states that lenders who participate in the PLP must meet all requirements of CLP. The CLP loan volume threshold was established on February 12, 1999 (64 FR 7404). The notice stated that lenders participating in the CLP must have closed a total of at least 10 FSA guaranteed loans and at least 5 of those FSA guaranteed loans must have been closed in the past 2 E:\FR\FM\23FEN1.SGM 23FEN1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Notices years. This resulted in the requirements of 20 loans in the past 5 years and 5 loans in the past 2 years for lenders to meet the loan volume requirements in 7 CFR 762.106(c)(1) and (3) to obtain PLP status. FSA regulations in 7 CFR 762.106(f)(1) specify that the maximum term for PLP status cannot exceed 5 years and 7 CFR 762.106(f)(3) specifies that lenders must continue to meet FSA’s eligibility requirements in order to renew their status. Due to decreases in overall farm lending,1 including FSA guaranteed loans, many existing PLP lenders have been unable to qualify for the renewal of their status in the PLP within the past 5 years. In most cases, the lenders whose status was not renewed were well-established PLP lenders that participated in the program for 10 years or longer with minimal to no losses. This results in experienced lenders reverting to either CLP status or Standard Eligible Lender (SEL) status. Individual guaranteed loan applications submitted under the SEL or CLP status require more supporting documentation from lenders, which takes more time for FSA to review. In turn, this results in delays for producers to receive their loan funds. With this notice, FSA is amending the threshold required for existing PLP lenders to renew their status and for former PLP lenders whose status was not renewed due solely to a lack of loan volume within the past 5 years preceding the publication of this notice when reapplying for PLP status. This notice revises this PLP renewal threshold to 10 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years. PLP lenders whose status was not renewed due solely to a lack of loan volume within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of this notice must re-apply for PLP status within 180 days from the publication of this notice in order to be evaluated under the revised loan volume criteria. Lenders who have never previously held PLP status, lenders who lost their PLP status more than 5 years ago, or lenders who lost their PLP status at any time for a reason other than solely a lack of loan volume must continue to meet the existing requirements of 20 loans closed in the past 5 years. This action will allow more experienced PLP lenders to retain their status in periods of decreased application volume which will result in faster application turnaround times for both lenders and FSA staff when reviewing individual guaranteed loan applications from those lenders. Faster turnaround times ensure that producers receive their loan funds in a timely manner. Also, limiting the lower threshold of 10 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years only to PLP lenders renewing their status and to those lenders who recently lost their PLP status ensures that it applies only to lenders with an established knowledge of FSA guaranteed loan policies, who stay abreast of any recent policy changes, as opposed to newer lender applicants who may be less experienced with FSA’s guaranteed loan program requirements. Lenders who have never previously held PLP status have not yet demonstrated proficiency under the limited FSA supervision of PLP, so it is appropriate that they must still meet the higher threshold of 20 loans closed in the past 5 years to initially obtain the PLP status. FSA’s CLP provides lenders with less experience than PLP lenders the opportunity to operate under a partially streamlined origination and servicing process for FSA guaranteed loans. In accordance with the criteria specified in 7 CFR 762.106(b)(4), lenders who 13683 participate in CLP must meet minimum loan volume thresholds that are established by FSA and published in a notice in the Federal Register. The CLP loan volume threshold was established on February 12, 1999 (64 FR 7404). The notice stated that lenders participating in CLP must have closed a total of at least 10 FSA guaranteed loans and at least 5 of those FSA guaranteed loans must have been closed in the past 2 years. Due to the previously cited decreases in farm lending, including FSA guaranteed loans, many existing CLP and PLP lenders have been unable to qualify for the renewal of their respective statuses in the past 5 years. In addition, FSA has found that the inconsistency in the timeframes for the loan volume requirements (currently 5 years for PLP and 2 years for CLP) has created confusion and misunderstanding for both lenders and FSA staff. Therefore, with this notice, FSA is also amending the threshold required for existing CLP lenders to renew their status and for new lenders to qualify for CLP status. This notice revises that CLP loan volume threshold to 10 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years. Since guaranteed loan applications submitted by CLP lenders have more strict documentation requirements than those from PLP lenders, it is appropriate that the loan volume threshold for initially obtaining CLP status is lower than that for PLP. Additionally, since the new CLP threshold of 10 loans closed in the past 5 years is more lenient than the current requirement of 5 loans closed in the past 2 years, FSA does not see a need for a different threshold for renewal of CLP status. The following table summarizes the new loan volume requirements for both the CLP and PLP programs: Required number of loans closed in the past 5 years Scenario New lenders applying for CLP status ............................................................................................................................................ Existing CLP lenders renewing their status .................................................................................................................................. New lenders applying for PLP status ............................................................................................................................................ Existing PLP lenders renewing their status (and former PLP lenders reapplying for PLP status after losing that status solely due to decreased loan volume within the 5 years preceding publication of this notice) .......................................................... 10 10 20 10 ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Note: Former PLP lenders reapplying for PLP status must do so within 180 days of publication of this notice for this lower threshold to apply. Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501–3520), 1 See Smaller Operating Loans Slow Lending Activity—Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Feb 22, 2024 Jkt 262001 the approved information collection under OMB control number 0560–0155 does not change and have any new information collection requirements. Environmental Review (kansascityfed.org) at https://www.kansascity fed.org/agriculture/agfinance-updates/smalleroperating-loans-slow-lending-activity/. PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 The environmental impacts have been considered in a manner consistent with the provisions of the National E:\FR\FM\23FEN1.SGM 23FEN1 13684 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 37 / Friday, February 23, 2024 / Notices ddrumheller on DSK120RN23PROD with NOTICES1 Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321–4347), the regulations of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500–1508), and the FSA regulation for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 799). The changes announced in this notice deal with the status of the guaranteed lender. Each of the underlying proposals submitted by guaranteed lenders of any status will continue to be fully considered under NEPA prior to the government guaranteeing any loans for any activities, including Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, or Environmental Impact Statements. program-discrimination-complaint and at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call (866) 632–9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by: (1) mail to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250–9410; (2) fax: (202) 690–7442; or (3) email: program.intake@usda.gov. USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender. Zach Ducheneaux, Administrator, Farm Service Agency. Federal Assistance Programs The title and number of the Federal assistance programs, as found in the Assistance Listing 2 (formerly referred to as the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance), to which this document applies is 10.406—Farm Operating Loans and 10.407—Farm Ownership Loans. [FR Doc. 2024–03687 Filed 2–22–24; 8:45 am] USDA Non-Discrimination Policy In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights regulations and policies, USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual orientation, disability, age, marital status, family or parental status, income derived from a public assistance program, political beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by program or incident. Individuals who require alternative means of communication for program information (for example, braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible agency or the USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720–2600 (voice and text telephone (TTY)) or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and text telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone). Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD– 3027, found online at https:// www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a- AGENCY: 2 See https://sam.gov/content/assistance-listings. VerDate Sep<11>2014 17:19 Feb 22, 2024 Jkt 262001 BILLING CODE 3411–E2–P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE Forest Service Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board Forest Service, Agriculture (USDA). ACTION: Notice of meeting. The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board will hold a public meeting according to the details shown below. The Board is authorized under the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, the National Forest Management Act of 1976, the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The purpose of the Board is to provide advice and recommendations on a broad range of forest issues such as forest plan revisions or amendments, forest health including fire, insect and disease, travel management, forest monitoring and evaluation, recreation fees, and sitespecific projects having forest-wide implications. DATES: An in-person meeting will be held on March 20, 2024, 1 p.m.–4:30 p.m. mountain standard time (MST). Written and Oral Comments: Anyone wishing to provide in-person oral comments must pre-register by 11:59 p.m. MST on March 15, 2024. Written public comments will be accepted by 11:59 p.m. MST on March 15, 2024. Comments submitted after this date will be provided to the Forest Service, but the Board may not have adequate time to consider those comments prior to the meeting. All board meetings are subject to cancellation. For status of the meeting prior to attendance, please contact the SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. This meeting will be held in person, at the U.S. Forest Service, Mystic Ranger District Office, 8221 Mount Rushmore Road, Rapid City, South Dakota 57702. Board information and meeting details can be found at the following website: https:// www.fs.usda.gov/main/blackhills/ workingtogether/advisorycommittees or by contacting the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Written Comments: Written comments must be sent by email to scott.j.jacobson@usda.gov or via mail (i.e., postmarked) to Scott Jacobson, 8221 Mount Rushmore Road, Rapid City, South Dakota 57702. The Forest Service strongly prefers comments be submitted electronically. Oral Comments: Persons or organizations wishing to make oral comments must pre-register by 11:59 p.m. MST, March 15, 2024, and speakers can only register for one speaking slot. Oral comments must be sent by email to scott.j.jacobson@ usda.gov or via mail (i.e., postmarked) to Scott Jacobson, 8221 Mount Rushmore Road, Rapid City, South Dakota 57702. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Shawn Cochran, Designated Federal Officer (DFO), by phone at 605–673– 9201, or email at shawn.cochran@ usda.gov, or Scott Jacobson, Committee Coordinator, at 605–440–1409 or email at scott.j.jacobson@usda.gov. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The meeting agenda will include: 1. Length of Stay on Forest discussion; 2. Mitchell Dam Project; and 3. Forest Plan Revision update. The agenda will include time for individuals to make oral statements of three minutes or less. Individuals wishing to make an oral statement should make a request in writing at least three days prior to the meeting date to be scheduled on the agenda. Written comments may be submitted to the Forest Service up to 7 days after the meeting date listed under DATES. Please contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, by or before the deadline, for all questions related to the meeting. All comments, including names and addresses when provided, are placed in the record and are available for public inspection and copying. The public may inspect comments received upon request. Meeting Accommodations: The meeting location is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act, and the USDA provides reasonable ADDRESSES: E:\FR\FM\23FEN1.SGM 23FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 37 (Friday, February 23, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13682-13684]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03687]


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

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Farm Service Agency

[Docket ID FSA-2023-0023]


Revised Loan Volume Requirements for the Preferred Lender Program 
and the Certified Lender Program

AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.

ACTION: Notice of eligibility criteria.

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

SUMMARY: The Farm Service Agency (FSA) announces the revised loan 
volume eligibility criteria for existing lenders participating in the 
Preferred Lender Program (PLP) for FSA guaranteed loans or who have 
recently participated in PLP but lost that status due to loan volume 
requirements and wish to reapply. Due to decreased loan demand, many 
former PLP lenders, who would have otherwise been expected to have 
renewed their PLP status, have been unable to qualify for the renewal 
of their status in PLP within the past 5 years due solely to loan 
volume requirements. This document applies lower loan volume 
eligibility criteria to PLP lenders who renew their PLP status and to 
former PLP lenders who reapply for PLP status after losing that status 
because they were unable to renew due solely to decreased loan volume 
within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of this notice. FSA 
also announces the revised loan volume eligibility criteria for all 
lenders participating in the Certified Lender Program (CLP) for FSA 
guaranteed loans due to the same decreased loan demand discussed 
previously. This document applies less restrictive loan volume 
eligibility criteria to all lenders currently participating in the CLP 
program and lenders applying to participate in the CLP program.

DATES: Applicable date: February 23, 2024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Matthew T. Henderson; telephone: (202) 
720-5847; email: [email protected]. Individuals who require 
alternative means for communication should contact the U.S. Department 
of Agriculture (USDA) Target Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and text 
telephone (TTY)) or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay service (both 
voice and text telephone users can initiate this call from any 
telephone).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    FSA's PLP provides qualifying lenders additional authorities and 
streamlined procedures under the FSA guaranteed farm loan programs. In 
accordance with the criteria specified in 7 CFR 762.106(c)(3), lenders 
who participate in the PLP must meet minimum loan volume thresholds 
that are established by FSA and published in a notice in the Federal 
Register. On May 5, 1999 (64 FR 24132), FSA established the current PLP 
loan volume threshold of 20 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 
years. Also, 7 CFR 762.106(c)(1) states that lenders who participate in 
the PLP must meet all requirements of CLP. The CLP loan volume 
threshold was established on February 12, 1999 (64 FR 7404). The notice 
stated that lenders participating in the CLP must have closed a total 
of at least 10 FSA guaranteed loans and at least 5 of those FSA 
guaranteed loans must have been closed in the past 2

[[Page 13683]]

years. This resulted in the requirements of 20 loans in the past 5 
years and 5 loans in the past 2 years for lenders to meet the loan 
volume requirements in 7 CFR 762.106(c)(1) and (3) to obtain PLP 
status.
    FSA regulations in 7 CFR 762.106(f)(1) specify that the maximum 
term for PLP status cannot exceed 5 years and 7 CFR 762.106(f)(3) 
specifies that lenders must continue to meet FSA's eligibility 
requirements in order to renew their status.
    Due to decreases in overall farm lending,\1\ including FSA 
guaranteed loans, many existing PLP lenders have been unable to qualify 
for the renewal of their status in the PLP within the past 5 years. In 
most cases, the lenders whose status was not renewed were well-
established PLP lenders that participated in the program for 10 years 
or longer with minimal to no losses. This results in experienced 
lenders reverting to either CLP status or Standard Eligible Lender 
(SEL) status. Individual guaranteed loan applications submitted under 
the SEL or CLP status require more supporting documentation from 
lenders, which takes more time for FSA to review. In turn, this results 
in delays for producers to receive their loan funds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ See Smaller Operating Loans Slow Lending Activity--Federal 
Reserve Bank of Kansas City (kansascityfed.org) at https://www.kansascityfed.org/agriculture/agfinance-updates/smaller-operating-loans-slow-lending-activity/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    With this notice, FSA is amending the threshold required for 
existing PLP lenders to renew their status and for former PLP lenders 
whose status was not renewed due solely to a lack of loan volume within 
the past 5 years preceding the publication of this notice when 
reapplying for PLP status. This notice revises this PLP renewal 
threshold to 10 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years. PLP 
lenders whose status was not renewed due solely to a lack of loan 
volume within the 5 years immediately preceding the date of this notice 
must re-apply for PLP status within 180 days from the publication of 
this notice in order to be evaluated under the revised loan volume 
criteria. Lenders who have never previously held PLP status, lenders 
who lost their PLP status more than 5 years ago, or lenders who lost 
their PLP status at any time for a reason other than solely a lack of 
loan volume must continue to meet the existing requirements of 20 loans 
closed in the past 5 years.
    This action will allow more experienced PLP lenders to retain their 
status in periods of decreased application volume which will result in 
faster application turnaround times for both lenders and FSA staff when 
reviewing individual guaranteed loan applications from those lenders. 
Faster turnaround times ensure that producers receive their loan funds 
in a timely manner. Also, limiting the lower threshold of 10 FSA 
guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years only to PLP lenders 
renewing their status and to those lenders who recently lost their PLP 
status ensures that it applies only to lenders with an established 
knowledge of FSA guaranteed loan policies, who stay abreast of any 
recent policy changes, as opposed to newer lender applicants who may be 
less experienced with FSA's guaranteed loan program requirements. 
Lenders who have never previously held PLP status have not yet 
demonstrated proficiency under the limited FSA supervision of PLP, so 
it is appropriate that they must still meet the higher threshold of 20 
loans closed in the past 5 years to initially obtain the PLP status.
    FSA's CLP provides lenders with less experience than PLP lenders 
the opportunity to operate under a partially streamlined origination 
and servicing process for FSA guaranteed loans. In accordance with the 
criteria specified in 7 CFR 762.106(b)(4), lenders who participate in 
CLP must meet minimum loan volume thresholds that are established by 
FSA and published in a notice in the Federal Register. The CLP loan 
volume threshold was established on February 12, 1999 (64 FR 7404). The 
notice stated that lenders participating in CLP must have closed a 
total of at least 10 FSA guaranteed loans and at least 5 of those FSA 
guaranteed loans must have been closed in the past 2 years.
    Due to the previously cited decreases in farm lending, including 
FSA guaranteed loans, many existing CLP and PLP lenders have been 
unable to qualify for the renewal of their respective statuses in the 
past 5 years. In addition, FSA has found that the inconsistency in the 
timeframes for the loan volume requirements (currently 5 years for PLP 
and 2 years for CLP) has created confusion and misunderstanding for 
both lenders and FSA staff.
    Therefore, with this notice, FSA is also amending the threshold 
required for existing CLP lenders to renew their status and for new 
lenders to qualify for CLP status. This notice revises that CLP loan 
volume threshold to 10 FSA guaranteed loans closed in the past 5 years. 
Since guaranteed loan applications submitted by CLP lenders have more 
strict documentation requirements than those from PLP lenders, it is 
appropriate that the loan volume threshold for initially obtaining CLP 
status is lower than that for PLP. Additionally, since the new CLP 
threshold of 10 loans closed in the past 5 years is more lenient than 
the current requirement of 5 loans closed in the past 2 years, FSA does 
not see a need for a different threshold for renewal of CLP status. The 
following table summarizes the new loan volume requirements for both 
the CLP and PLP programs:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                        Required number
                                                        of loans closed
                       Scenario                          in the past 5
                                                             years
------------------------------------------------------------------------
New lenders applying for CLP status..................                 10
Existing CLP lenders renewing their status...........                 10
New lenders applying for PLP status..................                 20
Existing PLP lenders renewing their status (and                       10
 former PLP lenders reapplying for PLP status after
 losing that status solely due to decreased loan
 volume within the 5 years preceding publication of
 this notice)........................................
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Note: Former PLP lenders reapplying for PLP status must do so within 180
  days of publication of this notice for this lower threshold to apply.

Paperwork Reduction Act Requirements

    In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501-
3520), the approved information collection under OMB control number 
0560-0155 does not change and have any new information collection 
requirements.

Environmental Review

    The environmental impacts have been considered in a manner 
consistent with the provisions of the National

[[Page 13684]]

Environmental Policy Act (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321-4347), the regulations 
of the Council on Environmental Quality (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and 
the FSA regulation for compliance with NEPA (7 CFR part 799). The 
changes announced in this notice deal with the status of the guaranteed 
lender. Each of the underlying proposals submitted by guaranteed 
lenders of any status will continue to be fully considered under NEPA 
prior to the government guaranteeing any loans for any activities, 
including Categorical Exclusions, Environmental Assessments, or 
Environmental Impact Statements.

Federal Assistance Programs

    The title and number of the Federal assistance programs, as found 
in the Assistance Listing \2\ (formerly referred to as the Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance), to which this document applies is 
10.406--Farm Operating Loans and 10.407--Farm Ownership Loans.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \2\ See https://sam.gov/content/assistance-listings.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

USDA Non-Discrimination Policy

    In accordance with Federal civil rights law and USDA civil rights 
regulations and policies, USDA, its agencies, offices, and employees, 
and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are 
prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, 
religion, sex, gender identity (including gender expression), sexual 
orientation, disability, age, marital status, family or parental 
status, income derived from a public assistance program, political 
beliefs, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity, in 
any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA (not all bases 
apply to all programs). Remedies and complaint filing deadlines vary by 
program or incident.
    Individuals who require alternative means of communication for 
program information (for example, braille, large print, audiotape, 
American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible agency or 
the USDA TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and text telephone 
(TTY)) or dial 711 for Telecommunications Relay Service (both voice and 
text telephone users can initiate this call from any telephone). 
Additionally, program information may be made available in languages 
other than English.
    To file a program discrimination complaint, complete the USDA 
Program Discrimination Complaint Form, AD-3027, found online at https://www.usda.gov/oascr/how-to-file-a-program-discrimination-complaint and 
at any USDA office or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in 
the letter all the information requested in the form. To request a copy 
of the complaint form, call (866) 632-9992. Submit your completed form 
or letter to USDA by: (1) mail to: U.S. Department of Agriculture, 
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence 
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20250-9410; (2) fax: (202) 690-7442; or (3) 
email: [email protected].
    USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer, and lender.

Zach Ducheneaux,
Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 2024-03687 Filed 2-22-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3411-E2-P
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