Department of Agriculture 2006 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment for a preliminary decision to extend a determination of nonregulated status. The original determination and the requested extension involve rice lines genetically engineered to be tolerant to the herbicide glufosinate. We have received a petition from Bayer CropScience requesting the extension for a rice line, designated as LLRICE601, based on its similarity to previously deregulated rice lines, LLRICE62 and LLRICE06.

We recently amended the regulations to establish a herd certification program and interstate movement restrictions for cervids to control the spread of chronic wasting disease. That final rule had an effective date of October 19, 2006. We are delaying that effective date until further notice, to give the agency time to consider several petitions we recently received that asked for the rule not to take effect as scheduled. This delay is needed to allow the agency to consider the issues raised in the petitions and decide what action to take in response to them.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the pine shoot beetle regulations by designating the State of Wisconsin, in its entirety, as a quarantined area based on the detection of new pine shoot beetle infested areas in the State, as well as its decision to no longer enforce intrastate movement restrictions. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the spread of pine shoot beetle, a pest of pine trees, into noninfested areas of the United States.

The Glenn/Colusa County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Willows, California. Agenda items to be covered include: (1) Introductions, (2) Approval of Minutes, (3) Public Comments, (4) Project Proposal/Possible Action, (5) General Discussion (6) Plan Schedule for the Next Year, (7) Next agenda.

Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) announces designation of the following organizations to provide official services under the United States Grain Standards Act, as amended (Act): Idaho Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Idaho); Lewiston Grain Inspection Service, Inc. (Lewiston); Ohio Valley Grain Inspection, Inc. (Ohio Valley); and Utah Department of Agriculture and Food (Utah).

This rule changes how the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) handles certain claims under the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) for ``tropical'' regions, including Hawaii, Puerto Rico and other specified areas. The changes will reduce the burden on the affected program participants and ease program administration in the affected areas.

We are revising the United States Standards for Soybeans to change the minimum test weight per bushel (TW) from a grade determining factor to an informational factor. As an informational factor, TW will be reported on official certificates unless requested otherwise. If the applicant requests that TW not be determined, soybean TW will not be determined and not reported on the official certificate. We also are changing the reporting requirements for TW in soybeans from whole and half pounds with a fraction of a half pound disregarded to reporting to the nearest tenth of a pound. Additionally, we are clarifying the reporting requirements for TW in canola. These changes will further help to ensure market-relevant standards and grades and clarify reporting requirements.

This notice announces the reconvening of the public hearing that began on January 24, 2006, in Alexandria, Virginia, to consider proposals seeking to amend the Class III and Class IV milk price formula manufacturing allowances applicable to all Federal milk marketing orders.

Pursuant to the authorities in the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463) and under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-393), the Boise and Payette National Forests' Southwest Idaho Resource Advisory Committee will conduct a business meeting, which is open to the public.

The Deschutes Provincial Advisory Committee will meet for a field trip on September 15, 2006 starting at 8 a.m. at the Ochoco National Forest Headquarters, 3160 NE. 3rd Street, Prineville, Oregon. Topics for discussion include a PAC business meeting at the office until 10:30 a.m. The field trip will be from 10:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. and will visit the Maxwell Fire to discuss Area Emergency Rehabilitation and potential opportunities for the fire salvage activities. Also, if time allows, members will visit McKay Creek to discuss motorized access, dispersed camping, and riparian resources. A Public Forum will be available from 12:30 p.m. till 13:00 p.m. All Deschutes Province Advisory Committee Meetings are open to the public.

This notice pertains to user fees for certain veterinary diagnostic services and to fees charged for agricultural quarantine and inspection services that are provided in connection with certain commercial vessels, commercial trucks, loaded commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international airline passengers arriving at ports in the Customs territory of the United States. The purpose of this notice is to remind the public of the user fees for fiscal year 2007 (October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007).

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes to amend the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Nursery Crop Insurance Provisions by amending the definition of ``liners.'' FCIC also proposes to amend the Nursery Peak Inventory Endorsement to clarify that the peak amount of insurance is limited to 200% of the amount of insurance established under the Nursery Crop Insurance Provisions. The proposed changes will be effective for the 2008 and succeeding crop years.

This document sets forth the revised appendices to the Dairy Tariff-Rate Import Quota Licensing Regulation for the 2006 quota year reflecting the cumulative annual transfers from Appendix 1 to Appendix 2 for certain dairy product import licenses permanently surrendered by licensees or revoked by the Licensing Authority.

This rule increases the assessment rates established for the Nectarine Administrative Committee and the Peach Commodity Committee (committees) for the 2006-07 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.20 to $0.21 per 25-pound container or container equivalent of nectarines and peaches handled. The committees locally administer the marketing orders that regulate the handling of nectarines and peaches grown in California. Assessments upon nectarine and peach handlers are used by the committees to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the programs. The fiscal period runs from March 1 through the last day of February. The assessment rates will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

Pursuant to authorities in the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463) and the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self determination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-393), the Black Hills National Forest's Custer County Resource Advisory Committee will meet on Tuesday, September 12, 2006 in Custer, South Dakota for a business meeting. The meeting is open to the public.

This provides notice of the Federal Subsistence Board's in- season management action to remove closure restrictions on non- Federally qualified users in the Red Sheep and Cane Creek drainages of the Arctic Village Sheep Management Area. The Board's action provides an exception to the Subsistence Management Regulations for Public Lands in Alaska, published in the Federal Register on June 30, 2006. Those regulations established seasons, harvest limits, methods, and means relating to the taking of wildlife for subsistence uses during the 2006 regulatory year.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the bovine tuberculosis regulations regarding State and zone classifications by removing Minnesota from the list of accredited-free States and adding it to the list of modified accredited advanced States. The interim rule was necessary to help prevent the spread of tuberculosis because Minnesota no longer met the requirements for accredited-free State status.

We are establishing regulations to restrict the importation into the United States of live fish, fertilized eggs, and gametes of fish species that are susceptible to spring viremia of carp, a serious contagious viral disease of carp. Cases of spring viremia of carp confirmed in the United States in 2002 and 2004, and since eradicated, have been linked to the unregulated importation of fish infected with the virus. This action is necessary to prevent further introductions of spring viremia of carp into the United States.

The Tehama County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Red Bluff, California. Agenda items to be covered include: (1) Introductions, (2) Approval of Minutes, (3) Public Comment, (4) Revising a Meeting Schedule, (5) Status of the Final Expenditures, (6) Chairman's Perspective, (7) General Discussion, (8) Next Agenda.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of fruits and vegetables in order to allow pink and red tomatoes grown in approved registered production sites in Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama to be imported into the United States. The conditions to which the importation of tomatoes will be subject, including trapping, pre-harvest inspection, and shipping procedures, are designed to prevent the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States. This action will allow for the importation of pink and red tomatoes from those countries in Central America while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States.

The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on a proposal to harvest timber in the Iyouktug valley on Chicagof Island, Hoonah Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. The Proposed Action is to harvest an estimated 57 million board feet (MMBF) of timber from approximately 4,430 acres of forested land through various small sales, and one or more larger sales, offered over a 10-year period. Approximately 5 miles of National Forest System road would be constructed, and 12 miles of temporary road would be constructed; temporary road would be closed after timber management activities have been completed. The Proposed Action would include harvest of approximately 2,050 acres and construction of approximately 3 miles of National Forest System road and 6 miles of temporary road in inventoried roadless areas. The existing Long Island log transfer facility will be used as needed. In order to meet Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) criteria for old growth reserves, a non-significant Forest Plan amendment to change the boundaries of the small old-growth habitat reserves (OGRs) will be part of the Proposed Action.

We are amending the foreign quarantine and user fee regulations by removing the exemptions from inspection for imported fruits and vegetables grown in Canada and the exemptions from user fees for commercial vessels, commercial trucks, commercial railroad cars, commercial aircraft, and international air passengers entering the United States from Canada. As a result of this action, all agricultural products imported from Canada will be subject to inspection, and commercial conveyances, as well as airline passengers arriving on flights from Canada, will be subject to inspection and user fees. We are taking this action in part because we are not recovering the costs of our current inspection activities at the U.S./Canada border. In addition, our data show an increasing number of interceptions on the U.S./Canada border of prohibited material that originated in regions other than Canada that presents a high risk of introducing plant pests or animal diseases into the United States. These findings, combined with additional Canadian airport preclearance data on interceptions of ineligible agricultural products approaching the U.S. border from Canada, strongly indicate that we need to expand and strengthen our pest exclusion and smuggling interdiction efforts at that border. In order to do this and to recover the costs of our existing inspection activity, we need to collect user fees for inspection of commercial conveyances and international air passengers entering the United States from Canada.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), prior to undertaking research and other work associated with revising official grade standards, is soliciting comments on the need for possible revisions to the United States Standards for Grades of Oranges (California and Arizona) and/or United States Standards for Grades of Grapefruit (California and Arizona). AMS is seeking comments regarding any revisions to the United States Standards for Grades of Oranges (California and Arizona) and/or United States Standards for Grades of Grapefruit (California and Arizona) that may be necessary to better serve the industry.