Department of Agriculture March 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This document delays from August 5, 2009 until October 1, 2009 the implementation date of the interim final rule entitled Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): Revisions in the WIC Food Packages, which was published in the Federal Register on December 6, 2007, 72 FR 68966, and became effective on February 4, 2008. The interim rule revises regulations governing the WIC food packages to align the WIC food packages with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and current infant feeding practice guidelines of the American Academy of Pediatrics, better promote and support the establishment of successful long-term breastfeeding, provide WIC participants with a wider variety of food, and provide WIC State agencies with greater flexibility in prescribing food packages to accommodate participants with cultural food preferences. Many State agencies issue food instruments on a bi or tri-monthly basis based on the first of the month. As such, the August 5, 2009 date poses administrative and management information system challenges for State agencies. The new implementation date of October 1, 2009 uses the first date of the month and also corresponds with the beginning of the Federal fiscal year. This change is intended to result in more effective and efficient implementation of the new requirements, and enable State agencies to better manage any cost adjustments arising from the changes.

This order adjusts the Class I pricing surface of the Appalachian, Southeast and Florida Federal milk marketing orders on an interim basis. In addition, this order amends on an interim basis certain features of the diversion limit, touch-base standards and transportation credit provisions for the Appalachian and Southeast Federal milk marketing orders. More than the required producers approved the issuance of the interim order as amended.

Sunset of the exempted or prohibited use of substances under the National Organic Program (NOP) is required by the Organic Foods Production Act of 1990 (OFPA). This ANPR announces the sunset of 12 exempted substances added to the National List on September 12, 2006. This ANPR establishes September 12, 2011, as the date by which the sunset review and renewal process must be concluded. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) also begins the public comment process on whether the identified existing exemptions should be continued. Finally, this ANPR discusses how the NOP will manage the sunset review and renewal process.

The Roadless Area Conservation National Advisory Committee will meet in Washington, DC. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the proposed rule for the management of roadless areas on National Forest System lands in the State of Idaho and to discuss other related roadless area matters.

This is the second notice to producers and users of veterinary biological products and other interested individuals that we will be holding our 14th public meeting to discuss regulatory and policy issues related to the manufacture, distribution, and use of veterinary biological products. This notice provides information on the agenda, as well as the dates, times, and place of the meeting. It also identifies a contact person for obtaining registration forms, lodging information, and copies of the agenda.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to South Carolina Scientific, Inc. of Columbia, South Carolina, an exclusive license to U.S. Patent Application Serial No. 11/080,892, ``Attractant Pheromone for the Male Pink Hibiscus Mealybug Maconellicoccus hirsutus (Green) (Homoptera: Pseudococcidae)'', filed on March 14, 2005.

In accordance with the President's Council on Environmental Quality Regulations Implementing the Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, announces its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement to document and publicly disclose the environmental effects of proposed construction and operation of an open-pit mine on National Forest System land and the effects of any necessary amendments to the Coronado National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The proposed mining project would be located on 995 acres of private land and 3,670 acres of National Forest System land about 30 miles southeast of Tucson, Arizona, within Townships 18 and 19, Ranges 15 and 16, Gila and Salt River Meridian, Pima County, Arizona. Land under the jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, and the State of Arizona may be affected by certain activities associated with the proposed project. Production of 234 million pounds of copper, 4.5 million pounds of molybdenum, and 2.7 million ounces of silver is estimated annually over a period of approximately 20 years.

USDA Rural Development which administers the programs of the Rural Housing Service (RHS) 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 Rural Development under Section 515, Section 514, and Section 516 of the Housing Act of 1949, as amended. The intended effect is to restructure selected existing Section 515 multi-family housing loans and Section 514 and 516 off-farm labor housing loans and grants 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 very low-, low-, or moderate-income residents. Expectations are that properties participating in this program will be revitalized and the affordable use extended without displacing tenants because of increased rents. No additional Rural Development rental assistance units will be made available under this program.

The Rural Housing Service published a document in the Federal Register on February 20, 2008, announcing that it is soliciting competitive applications under its Housing Preservation Grant program. The listing for the Rural Development Oregon State Office address was incorrectly identified in the notice.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on March 24, 2008 at the Sierra Nevada College, 999 Tahoe Boulevard, Incline Village, NV, 89451. This Committee, established by the Secretary of Agriculture on December 15, 1998 (64 FR 2876), is chartered to provide advice to the Secretary on implementing the terms of the Federal Interagency Partnership on the Lake Tahoe Region and other matters raised by the Secretary.

The Rural Housing Service, an Agency under USDA Rural Development, is amending its regulations to change the due date of the annual guarantee fee for the Section 538 Guarantee Rural Rental Housing loans. The annual fee is a non-refundable amount that the lender must pay each year that the loan guarantee remains in effect. Currently, the Finance Office in St. Louis calculates annual fees manually since the borrower submissions of December 31 year-end financial information are not loaded into their automated systems by January 1, when annual fees are due. The Finance Office has requested that the annual fee due date be changed from January 1 to February 28 to allow their automated systems to be uploaded with December 31 year-end information thus enabling them to automate the annual fee calculation process.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Forest Service (FS) are announcing an extension of the comment period on the Draft Land Management Plan, Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DLMP/DEIS) for the public and National Forest System Lands under their jurisdiction and by this notice is announcing the extension of the comment period. The original notice published in the Federal Register on December 14, 2007 [72 FR 71148] and provided for a comment period to end on March 12, 2007.

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 or the Agency, is terminating further action by Rural Development on the environmental review process in accordance with the Agency's environmental policies and procedures for the Norborne Baseload Plant (Norborne Plant) in Carroll County, Missouri. The purpose of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) was to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of and alternatives to Associated Electric Cooperative, Incorporated's (AECI) application requesting federal financial assistance from Rural Development to construct the proposed 660 megawatt net supercritical pulverized coal fired power plant, new and modified substations, approximately 134 miles of new 345-kV transmission lines, a utility waste landfill, new rail access from existing mainline railroads, and a water supply system consisting of groundwater wells and associated pipeline. The AECI withdrew their application for federal financial assistance from the Agency on February 12, 2008, and has decided to evaluate non-federal financing options. The notice to prepare an EIS and to hold scoping meetings was published in the Federal Register on August 10, 2005. Four public scoping meetings were conducted in August of 2005. In addition, the Agency held an interagency scoping meeting with state and federal agency stakeholders on August 23, 2005. The Notice of Availability of the Draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on January 11, 2007 with the 45-day public comment period beginning on the date the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) published their receipt of the document. The USEPA's notice was published on January 26, 2007 and the public review period concluded on March 12, 2007. Three public hearings to solicit review comments were held between February 6-8, 2007. A Notice of Availability of the Final EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 13, 2007 with a 30-day public comment period. The comment period was extended to October 28, 2005 through a second notice published in the Federal Register on September 30, 2005.

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 an information collection activity associated with training related to animal diseases.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App 2, the United States Department of Agriculture announces a meeting of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, Education, and Economics Advisory Board.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is increasing the fees and charges for Federal voluntary egg, poultry, and rabbit grading, certification, and audit services for the next two fiscal years, FY 2008 and FY 2009. The fees and charges are being increased by 2.76% to 7.74% to cover the increase in salaries of Federal employees, salary increases of State employees cooperatively utilized in administering the programs, and other increased Agency costs. AMS is required to collect fees from users of these services to cover the costs of services rendered.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), are sponsoring a public meeting on March 5, 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 2nd Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), which will be held in The Hague, The Netherlands, from March 31-April 4, 2008. The Under Secretary for Food Safety and FDA recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 2nd Session of the CCCF and to address items that will be on the agenda.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with regulations for the importation of used farm equipment into the United States from regions affected with foot-and- mouth disease.

This rule amends the marketing order for walnuts grown in California. The amendments were proposed by the Walnut Marketing Board (Board), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The amendments will: Change the marketing year; include ``pack'' as a handler function; restructure the Board and revise nomination procedures; rename the Board and add authority to change Board composition; modify Board meeting and voting procedures; add authority for marketing promotion and paid advertising; add authority to accept voluntary financial contributions and to carry over excess assessment funds; broaden the scope of the quality control provisions and add the authority to recommend different regulations for different market destinations; add authority for the Board to appoint more than one inspection service; replace outdated order language with current industry terminology; and other related amendments. The Department of Agriculture (USDA) proposed three additional amendments: To establish tenure limitations for Board members, to require that continuance referenda be conducted on a periodic basis to ascertain producer support for the order, and to make any necessary conforming changes. With the exception of the amendment to establish tenure limitations, all of the amendments were favored by walnut growers in a mail referendum, held August 1 through 17, 2007. The proposed amendments are intended to improve the operation and functioning of the marketing order program.

The designations of the official agencies listed below will end on September 30, 2008. We are asking persons interested in providing official services in the areas served by these agencies to submit an application for designation. We are also asking for comments on the quality of services provided by these currently designated agencies: Aberdeen Grain Inspection, Inc. (Aberdeen); Decatur Grain Inspection, Inc. (Decatur); Hastings Grain Inspection, Inc. (Hastings); John R. McCrea Agency, Inc. (McCrea); Missouri Department of Agriculture (Missouri); and South Carolina Department of Agriculture (South Carolina).

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) finalizes the Cultivated Wild Rice Crop Insurance Provisions to convert the cultivated wild rice pilot crop insurance program to a permanent insurance program for the 2009 and succeeding crop years.

This interim final rule amends the regulations for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) by implementing most of the nondiscretionary provisions of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 that address participant certification and general program administration in the WIC Program. It also implements the exclusions from income eligibility determinations set forth in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 and in the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968, as amended, and clarifies an inconsistency related to fair hearings and notices of adverse actions that was inadvertently omitted in the publication of the Final WIC Miscellaneous Rule. Finally, this rulemaking includes technical amendments to correct the address and telephone numbers to which complaints alleging discrimination in the WIC Program should be directed, and to correct the address of the Western Regional Office of the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). The provisions set forth in this rulemaking are nondiscretionary, i.e., the Department has not exercised any authority to interpret the statutory provisions beyond the language that is specifically provided in the legislation. However, the Department believes that at least one of the provisions in this rulemaking may generate additional questions or comments concerning its implementation. Therefore, the rule is being issued as an interim final rule, to afford the public the opportunity to comment on the possible implications of the provisions contained herein.

This rule establishes procedures which the Department of Agriculture (USDA or the Department) will use in conducting a referendum to determine whether the issuance of the proposed Honey Packers and Importers Research, Promotion, Consumer Education and Industry Information Order (Order) is favored by first handlers and importers of honey or honey products. The Order will be implemented if it is approved by a majority of the eligible first handlers and importers voting in the referendum, which also represents a majority of the volume of honey and honey products handled and imported during the representative period. These procedures will also be used for any subsequent referendum under the Order, if it is approved in the initial referendum. The proposed Order is being published separately in this issue of the Federal Register. This proposed program would be implemented under the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996.