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

The Forest Service is issuing an interim directive revising Forest Service Handbook 1909.12, chapter 10, to guide agency employees in developing, amending, or revising land management plans for units of the National Forest System about the content of land management plans. The chapter focuses particularly on writing plan components, describing the monitoring program, and considering individual resources during the planning process. The intended effect of issuing this interim directive is to provide consistent, overall guidance to Forest Service line officers and agency employees. As an interim directive, the direction is effective immediately. Public comment is invited and will be considered in developing a final directive.

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposal to use multiple vegetation treatments focused on reducing the threat to ecosystem components including forest resources from an existing insect and disease epidemic (mountain pine beetle), 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. The proposal is being planned for the 44,500 acre Slate Castle Project Area that includes about 38,300 acres of National Forest System land and about 6,200 acres of interspersed private land. The project area generally extends from northwest of Hill City, South Dakota and east of Deerfield Lake. 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 Slate Castle Project Area include the following: Thin and harvest approximately 31,000 acres of pine stands using a variety of methods to treat mountain pine beetle (MPB) infested stands, reduce the overall density of pine trees and create a mosaic of structural stages across the landscape. Both commercial harvest and noncommercial thinning will be used to reduce the stand density, and associated fuel hazard conditions and susceptibility to mountain pine beetle infestations. Reduce the amount of fuels that currently exists and that created by vegetation treatment activities. Treatment could include lopping, chipping, crushing, piling and burning, and creating fuel breaks along roads and adjacent to private property, particularly those properties with houses and subdivisions. Prescribed broadcast and pile burning of up to 35,000 acres is also planned to disrupt the continuity of surface and canopy fuels, and to increase the quantity and quality of forage for big game and other wildlife resources. Remove conifers from hardwood stands such as aspen and birch, and restore meadows on approximately 4,400 acres to provide habitat diversity and additional wildfire protection by restoring natural fuel breaks.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension of a currently approved information collection that supports the End-Use Certificate Program.

We are proposing to allow the importation of commercial shipments of fresh eggplant from Israel. As a condition of entry, the eggplant would be grown under a systems approach that would include requirements for pest exclusion at the production site, fruit fly trapping inside and outside the production site, and pest-excluding packinghouse procedures. The eggplant would also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the Israeli national plant protection organization with an additional declaration confirming that the eggplant had been produced in accordance with the proposed requirements. This action would allow for the importation of commercial consignments of fresh eggplant from Israel into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

Genesis, Inc. submitted a revised Plan of Operations for exploration drilling near Troy, Montana. This revised plan adds drilling at seven sites on National Forest System Roads to the exploratory helicopter-assisted drilling described in the July 25, 2008, Notice of Intent to Prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Scoping Comment Date: Comments concerning the revised proposed action must be postmarked by December 8, 2008, to be considered in the draft EIS.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104-13) and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations at 5 CFR Part 1320 (60 FR 44978, August 29, 1995), this notice announces the Agricultural Research Service's (ARS's) intention to request an extension of a currently approved information collection, Information Collection For Document Delivery Services at the National Agricultural Library (NAL), that expires March 31, 2009.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service, an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to Rural Development and/or the Agency, invites comments on this information collection for which approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested.

We are proposing to allow the importation of commercial shipments of fresh longan with stems from Taiwan into the United States. As a condition of entry, the longan would be subject to cold treatment and special port-of-arrival inspection procedures for certain quarantine pests. In addition, the fruit would have to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate stating that the fruit was inspected and found to be free of certain pests, and the individual cartons or boxes in which the longan are shipped would have to be stamped or printed with a statement prohibiting their importation into or distribution in the State of Florida. This action would allow for the importation of commercial shipments of fresh longan with stems from Taiwan into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests into the United States.

The Forest Service is conducting a Wild and Scenic Rivers suitability study on four eligible river segments described in the WRNF Land and Resource Management Plan 2002 Revision. These segments are Colorado River Segments 1 and 2 and Deep Creek Segments 1 and 2. The results of the suitability study will be analyzed and incorporated into the Bureau of Land Management, Glenwood Springs and Kremmling Field Offices Environmental Impact Statement for their Resource Management Plan Revisions that is already underway. Separate Records of Decision will be issued for the Forest Service as well as the Bureau of Land Management.

In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the National Forest Management Act, (NFMA), the USDA Forest Service announces the availability of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) and Record of Decision (ROD) for the Southern Rockies Lynx Amendment and the opening of the administrative appeal period.

This final rule amends certain Forest Service regulations to allow, if necessary, for a criminal citation to be issued for unauthorized mineral operations on National Forest System (NFS) lands.

The Rural Utilities Service, an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development and/or the Agency, intends to hold a public scoping meeting and prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) to meet its responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and 7 CFR 1794 in connection with potential impacts related to projects proposed by PowerSouth Energy Cooperative, Inc. (PowerSouth) of Andalusia, Alabama. The proposal consists of the construction of a new 360-megawatt peaking- load gas-fired generation facility at the existing McIntosh Power Plant. PowerSouth is requesting USDA Rural Development to provide financial assistance for the proposed action.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the State-Federal Brucellosis Eradication Program.

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 privately owned quarantine facilities for ruminants.

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) is revising regulations as required by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill) to administer loan and payment programs for upland cotton and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton producers and establishing new regulations to specify payment provisions for domestic users of upland cotton. The 2008 Farm Bill generally extends the existing upland cotton and ELS cotton programs with some changes in calculations of the adjusted world price (AWP) and loan schedules for upland cotton. The new program for economic adjustment assistance for domestic users of upland cotton will pay a statutorily specified rate per pound and provides that such payments may only be used for capital investments (for example, plant, equipment, land, machinery).

The Rural Utilities Service, an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Program, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development and/or the Agency, amends its regulations for the Telecommunications Loan Program (Loan Program). The Agency has reviewed its criteria for approving loans and has determined that modifications to the Loan Program regulations are required in order to ensure that some financially sound applicants are not excluded from the Loan Program. The Agency is proposing to amend its regulations to modify the Times Interest Earned Ratio (TIER) requirements that an applicant must comply with when receiving a loan. This direct final rule is part of an ongoing Agency project to update Agency policies to enable borrowers to provide reliable, modern telecommunications service at reasonable costs in rural areas, while maintaining the security and feasibility of the Government's loans.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35, as amended), the Rural Utilities Service (RUS) invites comments on this information collection for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The original Market-Related Contract Term Addition (MRCTA) regulation was adopted in 1990 to provide financial relief to timber sale purchasers during cyclic downturns in forest products markets. However, the current drastic reduction in Forest Product markets, which began in late 2004, revealed several problems with the existing MRCTA regulation. Therefore, this final rule is needed to help ensure that the MRCTA regulation functions as originally intended. This final rule makes four changes to the MRCTA regulation. First, the regulation now allows more than 3 years to be added to a contract's term pursuant to MRCTA when there is a drastic reduction in wood product prices that lasts for more than 10 out of 12 consecutive quarters. Second, the regulation now gives contracting officers the flexibility needed to assign the most appropriate Bureau of Labor Statistics Producer Price Index (PPI) to a timber sale contract. Third, the regulation now prevents any single 3-month MRCTA from extending a contract's term by more than 1 year. Finally, the regulation now explicitly states what types of sales are ineligible for any MRCTA relief.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS) is amending its exiting income limit structure for the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program (SFHGLP). The effect of this action is to provide more efficient service to lenders, investors and Agency staff by modifying the existing Rural Development eight (8) tiered income structure into a simplified two (2) tiered structure. This modification will simplify program requirements and the qualification process.

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to implement multiple resource management actions in the Rattlesnake Project Area to implement the amended Black Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The proposed action includes approximately 11,000 acres of commercial timber harvest, 5,000 acres of non-commercial vegetation management, 6,000 acres of prescribed burning, three miles of road construction, road improvements, and watershed improvements. Prescribed burning is proposed in a roadless area.