Department of Agriculture 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the effects of designating National Forest System (NFS) roads and trails available for public motorized use on the Roosevelt/Duchesne and Flaming Gorge Ranger Districts within the Ashley National Forest. The decision will be to determine whether to include routes that are not currently NFS roads or trails open for public motorized use, establish a season of use and/or type of vehicle use for roads and trails, the prohibition of wheeled motorized vehicle travel off designated NFS roads and trails by the public (except as allowed by permit or other authorization), and change dispersed vehicle camping designations from allowing travel up to 300 feet off road to 150 feet off road. A National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) decision is not required to designate roads and trails for public motorized uses that are currently part of the National Forest System of roads and trails. Once a decision is made, a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) will be prepared, in compliance with the 2005 Forest Service Travel Management Rule (36 CFR Part 212). The MVUM will show all the routes that are designated for public motorized use on the Roosevelt/Duchesne and Flaming Gorge Ranger Districts. The MVUM will be the primary tool used to determine compliance and enforcement with motorized vehicle use designations on the forest. Those existing routes and other non-system routes not designated open on the MVUM will be legally closed to motorized travel. The decisions on motorized travel will not include motorized over-the-snow travel.

This rule streamlines the Farm Service Agency's (FSA) regulations governing its direct Farm Loan Programs. The final rule simplifies and clarifies FSA's direct loan regulations; implements the recommendations of the USDA Civil Rights Action Team; meets the objectives of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995; and separates FSA's direct Farm Loan Programs regulations from the Rural Development mission area's loan program regulations.

This document contains a correction to the final regulation which was published Wednesday, September 26, 2007 (72 FR 54519-54525). The regulation pertains to the insurance of fresh market sweet corn.

The Coronado National Forest proposes to begin charging a new $150.00 per day fee for rental of the Half Moon Ranch located 9 miles west of Sunsites, Arizona. Rental of the Cabin includes overnight use. Rental of the cabin and other facilities within the Arizona National Forests has shown that the public appreciates and enjoys the availability of historic rental facilities. Funds from the rentals will be used for the continued operation and maintenance of the Half Moon Ranch.

Notice is hereby given that the Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development, is terminating further preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Dry Fork Station and Hughes Transmission Project in Campbell and Sheridan Counties, Wyoming. The purpose of the EIS was to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of and alternatives to the Basin Electric Power Cooperative, Inc. (Basin Electric) application for a Rural Development loan guarantee to construct and operate a coal-fired electric generation facility referred to as the Dry Fork Station. Basin Electric did not request a loan guarantee from Rural Development for the Hughes Transmission Line, but it was being evaluated as a connected action for the EIS. Basin Electric withdrew their application to Rural Development on October 17, 2007. A Draft EIS was filed with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on August 24, 2007, and notice of an extension of the public comment period to November 19, 2007, appeared in the Federal Register on October 17, 2007 (``Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period, Draft Environmental Impact Statement, Dry Fork Station and Hughes Transmission Line, Wyoming'', 72 FR 59071). Public hearings on the Draft EIS were held in Sheridan, Wyoming on September 25, 2007, and in Gillette, Wyoming on September 26, 2007.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act, this constitutes notice of the upcoming meeting of the Grain Inspection Advisory Committee. The Grain Inspection Advisory Committee meets twice annually to advise GIPSA on the programs and services we deliver under the U.S. Grain Standards Act. Recommendations by the committee help us to better meet the needs of our customers who operate in a dynamic and changing marketplace.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to ISTO Technologies, Inc. of St. Louis, Missouri, an exclusive license to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/058,034, ``Porous Polymeric Matrices Made of Natural Polymers and Synthetic Polymers and Optionally at Least One Cation and Methods of Making'', filed on February 15, 2005.

We are adopting as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that amended the Asian longhorned beetle regulations by expanding the boundaries of the quarantined areas in New Jersey and restricting the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the spread of the Asian longhorned beetle to noninfested areas of the United States.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is withdrawing an advance notice of proposed rulemaking soliciting comments on possible revisions to the voluntary United States Standards for Grades of Florida Avocados. After reviewing and considering the comments received, the agency has decided not to proceed further with this action.

We are advising the public that an environmental assessment has been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service relative to a new Federal order that restricts the interstate movement of regulated articles from areas quarantined for citrus greening disease and the Asian citrus psyllid. The environmental assessment documents our review and analysis of the potential environmental impacts associated with the implementation of the new Federal order. We are making this environmental assessment available to the public for review and comment.

The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Glacier Project. The proposed activities would manage forest vegetation composition, structure, and spatial patterns (including habitat de-fragmentation), and the transportation system associated with these activities.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the new information collection: Prince William Sound User Experience Survey.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is reopening and extending the comment period for 30 days to allow any interested individuals and organizations to provide their comments on the amended estimated total annual burden for the new information collection associated with the Measurement Service Requests. The amended estimate adds the respondent's travel time for the information collection associated with the Measurement Service Requests, which was inadvertently left out of the previous burden estimate. FSA published the original notice and request for comments in the Federal Register on Friday, May 11, 2007 (72 FR 26774). FSA will accept all public comments received from May 11 to the closing date identified in this notice.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget, for an extension of the currently approved information collection for OMB 0581-0229 ``Form TM-28, USDA Farmers Market Application.'' Copies of this one-time yearly application form to participate in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farmers Market at 12th Street & Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC, may be obtained by calling the AMS Marketing Services Branch contact listed.

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 7 CFR part 1951, subpart R, ``Rural Development Loan Servicing.''

On October 10, 2007, the Federal Register published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the Motorized Travel Management Plan on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests (72 FR 57514-57517). That document indicated that the proposed transportation system is depicted in detail on the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests Travel Management Plan Proposed Action Map located on the Forests Web site and that the Forests transportation system open to motorized travel under this proposal would be approximately 2,892 miles. Correction of both of these statements is necessary. Correction: In the Federal Register of October 10, 2007, in FR Doc. 72-195, on page 57515, correct the proposed Action caption, second column, last paragraph, first and second sentence to read:

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) are sponsoring a public meeting on January 17, 2008. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States positions that will be discussed at the 8th Session of the Codex Committee on Milk and Milk Products (CCMMP) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in Queenstown, New Zealand, February 4-8, 2008. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and the AMS recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 8th Session of the CCMMP and to address items on the agenda.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, United States Department of Agriculture, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Food and Drug Administration (FDA), are sponsoring a public meeting. The meeting will be held on November 1, 2007, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. to discuss the agenda items coming before the 16th Session of the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) and present draft positions on the agenda items. The 16th Session of the CCFICS will be held November 26-November 30, 2007, in Queensland, Australia. The Under Secretary and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to comment on the agenda items that will be debated at this forthcoming Session of the CCFICS.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces that the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) intends to request an extension for a currently approved information collection procedure for entry of specialty sugars into the United States as described in 15 CFR part 2011.

The Boise National Forest is planning to charge fees at 22 recreation sites. Fees are assessed based on the level of amenities and services provided, cost of operation and maintenance, market assessment, and public comment. The fees listed are currently proposed and will be determined upon further analysis and public comment. Funds from fees would be used for the continued operation and maintenance of these recreation sites. Swanholm and Rice Peak Lookouts, along with cabins at the Landmark Ranger Station and Johnson Creek Guard Station will be available for overnight rental. A fee study, financial analysis, and public involvement efforts were completed. As a result, cabin rental fees would range between $30 and $50 per night. Lookout, ranger, and guard station rentals offer a unique experience and are a widely popular offering on National Forests. The Landmark Ranger Station is eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and is being restored to its original purpose as a working Forest Service administrative site, and to adapt the compound for public use and enjoyment. Fees would continue to help protect and maintain all these administrative structures and their historic integrity. The cabin rentals would be available once a final decision is made and they are listed with the National Recreation Reservation Service which would be in May of 2008 at the earliest. New $5 day use fees are also proposed for the Arrowrock and Campbell Creek boating access sites and the Granite Creek picnic site. These fees will help address the deferred maintenance needs, such as substandard boat docks at both of the boating sites as well as general operation and maintenance needs at all three sites. The Granite Creek picnic site also serves as a trailhead for an important interpretive trail in the summer and groomed snowmobile trail access in the winter. Amenities include covered picnic shelters, a toilet, and interpretive exhibits. Fees are proposed at 15 campgrounds including Badger Creek, Castle Creek, Cottonwood, Evans Creek, Little Roaring River Lake, Troutdale, Bald Mountain, Neinmeyer, Powerplant, Queens River, Riverside, Golden Gate, Ice Hole, Penny Springs, and Yellow Pine campgrounds. Many of these sites have been improved with new toilets and picnic tables over the last 8 to 10 years and additional income is needed for their continued operation and maintenance. A fee study, financial analysis, and public involvement efforts were completed in the spring and summer of 2007 in an effort to determine campground fees across the Boise National Forest, including both existing fee campgrounds as well as those proposed for new fees. Fees at campgrounds are proposed to be $15 at sites that provide both drinking and water and trash removal and $12 at sites that do not provide both of these amenities. A $5 day use fee is also proposed at some sites.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend the regulations on importing nursery stock by providing a new option for the postentry quarantine growing period for articles of Chrysanthemum spp., Leucanthemella serotina, and Nipponanthemum nipponicum and amending the definition of from. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.) and the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. 1701 et. seq.), the DOI Bureau of Land Management (Lead Agency) and the USDA Forest Service (Co-lead Agency) announce the availability of the FEIS for the Smoky Canyon Mine, Panels F and G Mine Expansion Project.

We are amending the imported fire ant regulations by designating as quarantined areas all or portions of 2 counties in Arkansas, 3 in North Carolina, and 3 in Tennessee, by expanding the quarantined area in 1 county in Arkansas and 15 in Tennessee, and by designating the entire State of South Carolina as a quarantined area. As a result of this action, the interstate movement of regulated articles from those areas will be restricted. This action is necessary to prevent the artificial spread of imported fire ant to noninfested areas of the United States.

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposal to use multiple vegetation treatments focused on creating a landscape condition more adapted to fire and that reduces potential for high severity wildfire near at-risk communities and in the wildland-urban interface, and reduce the threat to ecosystem components including forest resources from an existing insect epidemic. The proposal is being planned for the 44,100 acre Upper Spring Creek Project Area that includes about 39,700 acres of National Forest System land and about 4,300 acres of interspersed private land. The project area generally extends westward from west of Hill City, South Dakota encompassing the Upper Spring Creek watershed. This project will be conducted as an authorized project under section 102 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (HFRA). Actions proposed for the Upper Spring Creek Project Area include the following: Remove conifers from hardwood stands such as aspen and birch and by restoring meadows (est. 3,800 acres). Reduce the amount of fuel that currently exists and that created by vegetation treatment activities. Treatment could include lopping, crushing, piling and burning; creating fuel breaks along roads and adjacent to private property, particularly those properties with houses and subdivisions. Prescribed broadcast burning of up to 14,200 acres is also planned to not only reduce fuel levels, but also benefit big game and other wildlife resources. Thin and harvest approximately 23,500 acres of pine stands using a variety of treatments to reduce the overall density of pine trees and create a mosaic of structural stages across the landscape. Both commercial harvest and non-commercial thinning will be sued to reduce the stand density, associated fuel hazard conditions and susceptibility to Mountain Pine Beetle (MPB) infestations.