Department of Agriculture 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is amending the regulations for the Agricultural Management Assistance program (AMA). Section 2801 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act) amended the Agricultural Management Assistance program (AMA) by: Expanding the program's geographic scope to include Hawaii; and providing $15 million in mandatory funding for each of fiscal years 2008 through 2012. NRCS issues this interim final rule with request for comment to incorporate statutory changes resulting from the 2008 Act and to make administrative changes to improve program efficiency.

This notice announces the funds available for the BioRefinery Assistance Program (the ``Program'') to provide guaranteed loans for the development and construction of commercial-scale biorefineries or for the retrofitting of existing facilities using eligible technology for the development of advanced biofuels. In conjunction with this notice, USDA is publishing elsewhere in this issue an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) seeking comments for the development of a proposed rule to implement the BioRefinery Assistance guaranteed loan 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 the importation of baby corn and baby carrots from Zambia.

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has received a petition from Syngenta Seeds, Inc., seeking a determination of nonregulated status for corn designated as transformation event 3272, which has been genetically engineered to produce a microbial enzyme that facilitates ethanol production. The petition has been submitted in accordance with our regulations concerning the introduction of certain genetically engineered organisms and products. In accordance with those regulations, we are soliciting comments on whether this genetically engineered corn is likely to pose a plant pest risk. We are also making available for public comment an environmental assessment for the proposed determination of nonregulated status.

The Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) is revising the U.S. Standards for Whole Dry Peas, Split Peas, and Lentils to provide applicants for service with an optional grade designation for pea and lentil certification and to remove the requirement that, in the case of Mixed Dry Peas, the percentage of each class in the mixture be shown on the grade line. These changes will facilitate use of the standards and better reflect current marketing practices.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is amending the Cotton Board Rules and Regulations by increasing the value assigned to imported cotton for calculating supplemental assessments collected for use by the Cotton Research and Promotion Program. An amendment is required to adjust the assessments collected on imported cotton and the cotton content of imported products to be the same as those paid on domestically produced cotton. In addition, AMS is removing Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) numbers that were absorbed into other HTS categories since the last assessment adjustment.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to Allied Seed L.L.C. of Nampa, Idaho, an exclusive license to the variety of birdsfoot trefoil described in Plant Variety Protection Certificate Number 200700300, ``Witt'', filed on May 7, 2007.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to Krimar of Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada an exclusive license to U.S. Patent No. 6,232,880, ``Animal Control System Using Global Positioning and Instrumental Animal Conditioning,'' issued on May 15, 2001.

The Trinity County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet at the Trinity County Office of Education in Weaverville, California, December 8, 2008 beginning at 6:30 p.m. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss proposed projects under Title H of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency delivering the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development or the Agency, is amending its regulations to administer the Household Water Well System Grant Program. This action implements provisions of the 2008 Farm Bill for limits on loans that nonprofit organizations may make to homeowners for private well systems. The 2008 Farm Bill raises the loan limit to $11,000 from $8,000. The intended effect is to make part 1776 current with statutory authority. The Agency will also amend the regulation to enable existing grant recipients to amend their grant agreements for the new $11,000 loan limit. No adverse comments are expected.

The Bridger-Teton National Forest will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement to analyze the effects of continued authorization of grazing on 15 sheep allotments on the Kemmerer Ranger District in southwest Wyoming. The project area encompasses 165,575 acres of National Forest System lands within Lincoln County of western Wyoming. Most of the project area's east boundary is west of Commissary Ridge; the west boundary is Salt Creek. The center of the project area lies roughly 17 air miles northeast of Cokeville, Wyoming. The allotments included in the analysis are: Lower Salt Creek, Buckskin Knoll, Lake Alice, Smiths Fork, Aspen Springs, Basin Creek, Devil's Hole, Elk Creek, Green Knoll, Indian Creek, Lake Mountain, Pole Creek, Sams Allen Creek, South Fontenelle and Spruce Creek Allotments. The analysis contained in the EIS will be used by the Responsible Official to decide whether or not, and if so, how to authorize livestock grazing and manage rangeland vegetation within the project area.

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.