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

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the extension with revision of the information collection process for health screening of individuals who seek certification or recertification for firefighter positions. This process is known as the Health Screening Questionnaire. The process applies to individuals applying for firefighter positions and to Forest Service firefighters to determine if they meet the qualifications to perform safely their assigned duties as a firefighter.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the fruits and vegetables regulations to list a number of fruits and vegetables from certain parts of the world as eligible, under specified conditions, for importation into the United States. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest will begin charging a $35 fee for the overnight rental of the Harris Springs Guard Station. Rentals of other cabins and lookouts on the Shasta-Trinity National Forest have shown that visitors appreciate and enjoy the availability of historic rental facilities. Funds from the rental will be used for the continued operation and maintenance of the Harris Springs Guard Station.

The Department of Agriculture is revising the transition language contained in the 2005 planning rule (70 FR 1023). This final rule modifies the transition language to allow the Tongass National Forest to revise its land management plan either under the 2005 Rule or the planning regulations in effect before November 9, 2000. The preamble of this rule includes a discussion of the public comments received on the proposed rule published January 4, 2006 (71 FR 307), and the Department's responses to the comments.

The Forest Service will prepare a supplemental environmental impact statement (``SEIS'') for the Meadow Face Stewardship Pilot Project on the Nez Perce National Forest, Clearwater Ranger District, in Idaho County, Idaho, for the purpose of completing the cumulative effects analysis referred to in United States District Court Judge Edward J. Lodge's March 31, 2005 unpublished order in Friends of the Clearwater v. Lohn, Case No. CV04-384-C-EJL (D. Idaho). The court in that case issued a preliminary injunction against further timber harvesting under the Meadow Face Project until the Forest Service complies with the requirements for a cumulative effects analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (``NEPA''). The court stated, quoting Lands Council v. Powell, 395 F.3d 1019 (9th Cir. 2005), that the final environmental impact statement (``FEIS'') for the Meadow Face Project ``should have provided adequate data of time, type, place and scale of past timber harvest and should have explained in sufficient detail how different project plans and harvest methods affected the environment.'' Friends of the Clearwater, unpub. ord. at 31 (quoting Lands Council, 395 F.3d 1019 at 1028). Regarding the FEIS's analysis of cumulative effects from grazing, the court stated as follows:

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment concerning authorization to ship for the purpose of field testing, and then to field test, an unlicensed Marek's Disease-Newcastle Disease Vaccine, Serotypes 2 and 3, Live Virus, Live Marek's Disease Vector. The environmental assessment, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with the field testing of this vaccine, examines the potential effects that field testing this veterinary vaccine could have on the quality of the human environment. Based on the risk analysis, we have reached a preliminary determination that field testing this veterinary vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment, and that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared. We intend to authorize shipment of this vaccine for field testing following the close of the comment period for this notice unless new substantial issues bearing on the effects of this action are brought to our attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product license for this vaccine, provided the field test data support the conclusions of the environmental assessment and the issuance of a finding of no significant impact and the product meets all other requirements for licensing.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NRCS) intention to request an extension and revision for a currently approved information collection, Long-Term Contracting.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food And Drug Administration (FDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on April 7, 2006 to provide draft U.S. positions and receive public comments on agenda items that will be discussed at the 34th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Labelling (CCFL) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Ottawa, Canada on May 1-5, 2006. The Under Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda items that will be discussed at this forthcoming Session of the CCFL.

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) designated Schneider Inspection Service, Inc. (Schneider), to provide domestic official inspection services under the United States Grain Standards Act, as amended (Act). Schneider's designation terminates June 30, 2006, therefore, GIPSA asked interested persons to submit an application for designation in the December 1, 2005, Federal Register (70 FR 72104). However, Champaign-Danville Grain Inspection Departments, Inc. (Champaign), a currently designated agency providing official inspection services, is purchasing Schneider. Subsequently, GIPSA is not proceeding further with the request for applications for designation in the Lake Village, Indiana, area, which is currently designated to Schneider. The designation of Champaign has been amended to include this geographic area.