Department of Agriculture March 16, 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

USDA Rural Development administers rural utilities service through the Rural Utilities Service. USDA Rural Development announces its Public Television Digital Transition Grant Program application window for fiscal year (FY) 2006.

USDA Rural Development (RD) administers the programs of Rural Housing Service (RHS). RD announces the availability of funds and the timeframe to submit applications to participate in a demonstration program to preserve and revitalize existing rural rental housing projects financed by RD under section 515 of the Housing Act of 1949. The intended effect is to restructure selected existing section 515 loans expressly for the purpose of ensuring that sufficient resources are available to preserve the rental project for the purpose of providing safe and affordable housing for low-income residents. Expectations are that properties participating in this program will be able to be revitalized and extend affordable use without displacing tenants because of increased rents. No additional Rental Assistance units will be made available under this program.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the emerald ash borer regulations by adding areas in Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio to the list of areas quarantined because of emerald ash borer. As a result of the interim rule, the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas is restricted. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the artificial spread of the emerald ash borer from infested areas in the States of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio into noninfested areas of the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is amending 7 CFR part 2902, Guidelines for Designating Biobased Products for Federal Procurement, to add six sections to designate the following six items within which biobased products will be afforded Federal procurement preference, as provided for under section 9002 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002: Mobile equipment hydraulic fluids; roof coatings; water tank coatings; diesel fuel additives; penetrating lubricants; and bedding, bed linens, and towels. USDA also is establishing minimum biobased content for each of these items. Once USDA designates an item, procuring agencies are required generally to purchase biobased products within these designated items where the purchase price of the procurement item exceeds $10,000 or where the quantity of such items or of functionally equivalent items purchased over the preceding fiscal year equaled $10,000 or more. However, USDA is deferring the effective date for two items (water tank coatings and bedding, bed linens, and towels) until such time that more than one manufacturer of products in these two items is identified. USDA additionally is revising section 2902.2 to add definitions for ``biodegradability,'' ``EPA-designated recovered content product,'' and ``functional unit'' and section 2902.8 to adopt applicable ASTM International performance tests to verify biodegradability.