Department of Agriculture March 2005 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Siskiyou County Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Yreka, California, March 21, 2005. The meeting will include routine business, a discussion of larger scale projects, and the review and recommendation for implementation of submitted project proposals.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations to prohibit the importation of used farm equipment from regions affected with foot-and-mouth disease unless the equipment has been steam-cleaned prior to export to the United States.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to initiate a new information collection activity to support the National Animal Health Monitoring System's national Equine 2005 study.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) announces that it is soliciting competitive applications under its Housing Preservation Grant (HPG) program. The HPG program is a grant program which provides qualified public agencies, private nonprofit organizations, and other eligible entities grant funds to assist very low- and low-income homeowners in repairing and rehabilitating their homes in rural areas. In addition, the HPG program assists rental property owners and cooperative housing complexes in repairing and rehabilitating their units if they agree to make such units available to low- and very low- income persons. This action is taken to comply with Agency regulations found in 7 CFR part 1944, subpart N, which require the Agency to announce the opening and closing dates for receipt of pre-applications for HPG funds from eligible applicants. The intended effect of this Notice is to provide eligible organizations notice of these dates.

This NOFA announces the timeframe to submit applications for section 515 Rural Rental Housing (RRH) loan funds, including applications for the nonprofit set-aside for eligible nonprofit entities, the set-aside for the most Underserved Counties and Colonias (Cranston-Gonzalez National Affordable Housing Act), and the set-aside for Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities (EZ/ECs) and Rural Economic Area Partnership (REAP) zones. This document describes the methodology that will be used to distribute funds, the application process, submission requirements, and areas of special emphasis or consideration.

The amendments in this final rule delay until further notice the applicability of certain provisions of the rule entitled ``Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities,'' published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2005, 70 FR 460-553. That rule was scheduled to amend the regulations in 9 CFR parts 93, 94, 95, and 96, effective March 7, 2005, to establish a category of regions that present a minimal risk of introducing bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States via live ruminants and ruminant products and byproducts and to add Canada to this category. That rule included conditions for the importation of certain live ruminants and ruminant products from such regions.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), is soliciting comments on its proposal to revise the United States Standards for Grades of Persian (Tahiti) Limes. Specifically, AMS is proposing to revise the color and juice requirements. The proposed revision would simplify the two requirements in the standards which are complex and difficult to apply. These changes would bring the lime standards in line with other citrus standards, thereby, improving the usefulness in serving the industry.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting comments on it's proposal to revise the United States Standards for Grades of Kale. This action is being taken at the request of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee, which asked AMS to review the grade standards for possible revision. AMS is proposing to revise the standards to allow percentages to be determined by count rather than weight. AMS is also proposing to revise the application of tolerances for packages which contain less than 15 specimens. Additionally, based on a request from an industry group, the North American Perishable Agriculture Receivers (NAPAR), AMS is proposing to allow the standards to be used for kale leaves and bunches of leaves in addition to kale plants. The proposed revision would bring the standards for kale in line with current marketing practices, thereby improving the usefulness in serving the industry.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting comments on the proposed voluntary U.S. Standards for Grades of Mangos. Members of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee, the Fresh Produce Association of the Americas and other members of the mango industry have requested this action to be taken. The proposed standards would provide industry with a common language and uniform basis for trading, thus promoting orderly and efficient marketing of mangos.

The New Mexico Collaborative Forest Restoration Program Technical Advisory Panel will meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The purpose of the meeting is to provide recommendations to the Register Forest, USDA Forest Service Southwestern Region, on which forest restoration grant proposals submitted in response to the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program Request For Proposals best meet the objectives of the Community Forest Restoration Act (Title VI, Pub. L. 106-393).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of poultry meat and other poultry products from Sinaloa and Sonora, Mexico, into the United States.

In response to a request from Nebraska's Deputy Secretary of State we are approving the addition of a farm product to Nebraska's certified central filing system for notification of liens on farm products.

The Willamette Province Advisory Committee (PAC) will meet in Salem, Oregon. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss issues pertinent to the implementation of the Northwest Forest Plan and to provide advice to Federal land managers in the Province. The topics to be covered at the meeting include an update on BLM Resource Management Plan revisions, review plans for Province monitoring in 2005, update on PAC charter renewal and membership recruitment and information sharing.

This document summarizes the results of an Agriculture Marketing Service (AMS) review of the Fluid Milk Promotion Program under the criteria contained in Section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA). Based upon its review, AMS has determined that the Order should be continued without change.

This rule increases the assessment rate established for the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee (committee) for the 2005 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.015 to $0.0175 per 18-pound lug of grapes handled. The committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of grapes grown in a designated area of southeastern California. Authorization to assess grape handlers enables the committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This rule increases the assessment rate and changes the assessable unit established for the Vidalia Onion Committee (Committee) for the 2005 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.12 per 50-pound bag or equivalent to $0.10 per 40-pound carton of Vidalia onions. The assessment rate of $0.10 per 40-pound carton is $0.0001 per pound more than the assessment rate previously in effect. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of Vidalia onions grown in Georgia. Authorization to assess Vidalia onion handlers enables the Committee to incur expenses that are reasonable and necessary to administer the program. The fiscal period began January 1 and ends December 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing a portion of Orange County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from that area. This action is necessary to relieve restrictions that are no longer needed to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States. We have determined that the Oriental fruit fly has been eradicated from this portion of Orange County, CA, and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary. This portion of Orange County, CA, was the last remaining area in California quarantined for the Oriental fruit fly. Therefore, as a result of this action, there are no longer any areas in the continental United States quarantined for the Oriental fruit fly.

We are amending the Oriental fruit fly regulations by removing a portion of Los Angeles County, CA, from the list of quarantined areas and by removing restrictions on the interstate movement of regulated articles from this area. This action is necessary to relieve restrictions that are no longer needed to prevent the spread of the Oriental fruit fly into noninfested areas of the United States. We have determined that the Oriental fruit fly has been eradicated from this portion of Los Angeles County, CA, and that the quarantine and restrictions are no longer necessary.

The Military Construction Appropriations and Emergency Hurricane Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2005 (Pub. L. 108-324) makes $10,000,000 available to the Secretary of Agriculture to provide assistance to eligible nonindustrial private forest landowners who suffered losses during 2004, as a result of hurricane, tropical storm, or related events for the purposes of debris removal, replanting of timber, and other related purposes. The USDA Forest Service will administer this program, in partnerhsip with State forestry agencies in the States of Alabama and Florida, where signicant loss and damage to forest resources has occurred.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Rural Business-Cooperative Service's (RBS) intention to request an extension of a currently approved information collection in support of the program for ``Rural Development Loan Servicing.''

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service is publishing for public comment a summary of a proposed information collection. The proposed collection is a revision of a currently approved collection of the Food Stamp Program for which approval expires on February 28, 2005. The Food Stamp Act of 1977, as amended, requires that the Food and Nutrition Service will provide all authorized retail food stores and wholesale food concerns with redemption certificates. The redemption certificates are to be used by all authorized retailers and wholesale firms to present food coupons to insured financial institutions for credit or for cash. Requirements in the Food Stamp Program regulations are the basis for the information collected on Form FNS-278B, Food Stamp Redemption Certificate and Form FNS-278-4, Wholesaler Redemption Certificate. The Food and Nutrition Service is rapidly phasing out the use of paper food coupons. Currently, 99.9 percent of all food stamp benefits are issued electronically. Forty-eight States, the District of Columbia, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and Puerto Rico have online operating Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) systems. Two States operate offline food stamp EBT systems and issue paper food coupons to recipients who move out of State and have remaining food stamp benefits. Many States have already closed out their coupon inventory completely and more will be doing the same in the upcoming year. Approximately 438,955 Redemption Certificates were processed by retailers and wholesalers in Fiscal Year 2004, and the number continues to decline due to 100 percent EBT implementation. Until all of the paper food coupons issued are redeemed, the Redemption Certificate will remain an essential document to the food stamp redemption process.