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

Upon request the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) agrees to extend the public scoping comment period by 30 days prior to the preparation of an environmental impact statement (EIS) in connection to a project proposed by Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI), with headquarters in Springfield, Missouri. A previous notice was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2005 announcing RUS's intent to prepare an EIS and to hold public scoping meetings. The proposal consists of the construction and operation of a nominal 660 megawatt coal-based electrical generating plant and associated transmission facilities. A proposed and an alternate site both near the Missouri River in the northwest quadrant of Missouri have been identified by AECI. AECI is requesting RUS to provide financing for the proposal.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the West Indian fruit fly regulations by removing grapefruit, sweet lime, sour orange, and sweet orange from the list of regulated articles. A review of available scientific literature and other information led us to conclude that these citrus fruits do not present a risk of spreading West Indian fruit fly. This action affirms the elimination of restrictions on the interstate movement of these citrus fruits from areas quarantined because of the West Indian fruit fly.

We are proposing to amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to allow the importation, under certain conditions, of fresh commercial citrus fruit (grapefruit, limes, mandarin oranges or tangerines, sweet oranges, and tangelos) from approved areas of Peru into the United States. Based on the evidence in a recent pest risk analysis, we believe these articles can be safely imported from Peru, provided certain conditions are met. This action would provide for the importation of citrus from Peru into the United States while continuing to protect the United States against the introduction of plant pests.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request approval of a new information collection activity associated with a voluntary ``do not sell'' list of invasive plant species for Florida nurseries.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is reminding all poultry slaughter establishments that, under the Poultry Products Inspection Act (PPIA) and Agency regulations, live poultry must be handled in a manner that is consistent with good commercial practices, which means they should be treated humanely. Although there is no specific federal humane handling and slaughter statute for poultry, under the PPIA, poultry products are more likely to be adulterated if, among other circumstances, they are produced from birds that have not been treated humanely, because such birds are more likely to be bruised or to die other than by slaughter.

This notice establishes guidelines on public participation and public outreach for the United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service; United States Fish and Wildlife Service; Bureau of Land Management; and Bureau of Reclamation (the cooperating agencies). The guidelines apply to the establishment of new recreation fee areas and the demonstration of how the cooperating agencies have informed the public on the use of recreation fee revenues. In addition, each cooperating agency will determine specific public involvement opportunities based on local needs and interests. Detailed guidance on public involvement will be incorporated in each agency's directives, manuals, or orders.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), this notice announces the Economic Research Service's (ERS) intention to request approval for a new information collection from the U.S. population. The study will collect data on consumers' food purchase decisions, consumers' knowledge of food safety and nutrition, and how safety and nutrition information is influencing purchase decisions. The information will be collected four times a year, about once per quarter.

Notice is hereby given that the comment period on proposed changes in the regulatory periods when minimum grade, size, quality, and maturity requirements apply to southeastern California grapes under Marketing Order No. 925 (order), and to imported grapes under the table grape import regulation is extended until November 28, 2005.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, this notice announces the National Agricultural Library's intent to request an extension of currently approved information collection form related to the Animal Welfare Information Center's (AWIC) workshop, Meeting the Information Requirements of the Animal Welfare Act. This workshop registration form requests the following information from participants: contact information, affiliation, and database searching experience. Participants include principal investigators, members of Institutional Animal Care and Use committees, animal care technicians, facility managers, veterinarians, and administrators of animal use programs.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is amending its regulations governing loans made under the guaranteed farm loan program to specifically allow lenders to use the loans as security for loans to the lenders, remove certain documentation and designation requirements for lenders, and modify security restrictions as to refinancing and junior liens.

This order amends certain features of the pooling standards of the Mideast milk marketing order on an interim basis. More than the required number of producers in the Mideast marketing area have approved the issuance of the interim order as amended.

This rule revises the quantity of Class 1 (Scotch) and Class 3 (Native) spearmint oil that handlers may purchase from, or handle for, producers during the 2005-2006 marketing year. This rule increases the Scotch spearmint oil salable quantity from 677,409 pounds to 1,062,898 pounds, and the allotment percentage from 35 percent to 55 percent. In addition, this rule increases the Native spearmint oil salable quantity from 867,958 pounds to 1,019,600 pounds, and the allotment percentage from 40 percent to 47 percent. The order regulates the handling of spearmint oil produced in the Far West and is administered locally by the Spearmint Oil Administrative Committee (Committee). The Committee recommended this rule for the purpose of avoiding extreme fluctuations in supplies and prices and to help maintain stability in the Far West spearmint oil market.

On May 13, 2002, the President signed the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002. Title IV of that law, the Food Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2002, contains provisions substantively revising the Quality Control system. This rule proposes to amend the Food Stamp Program regulations to implement certain discretionary provisions concerning the Quality Control system in Sections 4118 and 4119 of the Food Stamp Reauthorization Act of 2002. This rule would establish new timeframes for completing individual Quality Control reviews and establish procedures for resolving liabilities following appeal decisions. This rule proposes to revise the negative case review procedures and provides procedures for households that break up while subject to the penalty for refusal to cooperate with a Quality Control review. This rule also proposes several additional policy changes and technical corrections, including deletion of material pertaining to enhanced administrative funding for low error rates, which was ended beginning in Fiscal Year 2003 by the statute. An interim rule published October 16, 2003, addressed certain non-discretionary provisions concerning the Quality Control system in Sections 4118 and 4119 of the Food Stamp Reauthorization Act. The high performance bonuses that replace the administrative enhanced funding are addressed in a separate rule published February 7, 2005. This rule would affect State agencies' quality control review operations, and it would alter the impact on State agencies of assessment and resolution of potential liabilities for excessive payment error rates and awarding of bonuses for superior performance. Households sampled for quality control review of their cases would be minimally affected by this rule.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule which decreased the assessment rate established for the Area No. 3 Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2005-2006 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.03 to $0.02 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order which regulates the handling of potatoes grown in Colorado. Assessments upon Colorado potato handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period begins July 1 and ends June 30. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The USDA, Forest Service, Bitterroot National Forest, will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose the environmental impacts of the proposed Trapper Land Stewardship Project. The project area is located in Ravalli County, west of Darby, Montana. The project analysis area encompasses approximately 34,300 acres between the Trapper Creek and Bunkhouse Creek drainages of the Bitterroot River watershed. The proposed project would manage vegetation to address urban interface needs, insect and disease infestations, dead and dying vegetation; travel systems will also be evaluated to reduce sedimentation, restore aquatic passage and provide managed recreation opportunities including ATV and motorcycle travel loops. Site-specific Bitterroot Forest Plan amendments are proposed for: snag standards, Forest Wide Elk Habitat Effectiveness (EHE) standards, and-Forest-wide thermal cover standards. Approximately 6000 acres between Trapper and Bunkhouse drainages of the Bitterroot River watershed are proposed for vegetation treatments. We will also be working with scientists from the Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Leopold Wilderness Institute to provide opportunities to evaluate our ability to influence fire spread with vegetation management and the effects of our management on the ecosystem. Public Involvement: The public is invited to comment on the Proposed Action or meet with Chuck Oliver at any point in time during the 30-day comment period beginning on the date of the publication of the Notice of Intent in the Federal Register. Contact Chuck Oliver at (406) 821-3913 or e-mail coliver01@fs.fed.us to schedule a meeting. To get on the mailing list contact Elizabeth Ballard (406) 777-5461, or email eballard@fs.fed.us.

This partial final decision adopts proposed amendments to the Appalachian and Southeast marketing areas as contained in a partial recommended decision published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2005. Specifically, this decision would expand the Appalachian milk marketing area, eliminate the ability to simultaneously pool the same milk on the Appalachian or Southeast order and on a State-operated milk order that has marketwide pooling, and amend the transportation credit provisions of the Southeast and Appalachian orders. The orders as amended are subject to approval by producers in the affected markets.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service will hold a public meeting concerning the animal movement tracking database component for the National Animal Identification System. The purpose of the meeting is to initiate dialogue about this initiative with industry stakeholders, including representatives of national organizations that represent livestock and poultry production sectors, livestock producers, and other interested individuals. This notice provides information on the discussion topics as well as the date, time, and place of the meeting.

The Forest Service will revise the Land and Resource Management Plan (hereafter referred to as the Forest Plan) for the Shoshone National Forest. This notice describes documents available for review and how to obtain them; summarizes the need to change the Forest Plan; provides information concerning public participation; and includes the names and addresses of agency officials who can provide additional information.

The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council will meet in Sacramento, California, October 18-20, 2005. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss emerging issues in urban and community forestry.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the cut flowers regulations to establish specific requirements for the importation of cut flowers that are hosts of chrysanthemum white rust (CWR) from countries where the disease is known to occur. We also proposed to amend the nursery stock regulations to update lists of countries where CWR is known to occur. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to establish a Peanut Standards Board (Board) for the purpose of advising the Secretary on quality and handling standards for domestically produced and imported peanuts. The initial Board was appointed by the Secretary and announced on December 5, 2002. USDA seeks nominations for individuals to be considered for selection to the Board to fill a vacant Board position for the remainder of a term of office ending June 30, 2006. The Board consists of 18 members representing producers and industry representatives.