Department of Agriculture 2008 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 the following information collections for which RUS intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

This document requests comment on the removal of the delay of applicability of certain provisions of the rule entitled ``Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions and Importation of Commodities,'' published in the Federal Register on January 4, 2005, 70 FR 460-553. The delay of applicability was removed in a final rule entitled ``Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy; Minimal-Risk Regions; Importation of Live Bovines and Products Derived from Bovines,'' published in the Federal Register on September 18, 2007, 72 FR 53314- 53379.

The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council will meet in San Diego, California, October 14-16, 2008. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss emerging issues in urban and community forestry and hear public input related to urban and community forestry.

The records formerly maintained in the Privacy Act System of Records, USDA/FS-12 Incident Management and Prescribed Fire Qualification and Experience Records are now maintained in another Privacy Act System of Records USDA/BLM-40 Incident Qualification and Certification System (IQCS). Therefore, this system is being abolished and removed from the inventory of USDA Systems of Records in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Forest Service is revising directives governing special use permits for outfitting and guiding conducted on National Forest System lands by simplifying the application and administrative process; establishing a flat land use fee for temporary use permits; developing a process for allocation of use on a first-come, first-served or lottery basis for temporary use permits to facilitate greater participation in outfitting and guiding by youth, educational, and religious groups; offering the same terms and conditions to educational and institutional permit holders as offered to other types of permit holders when they operate as a business; and clarifying policy for priority use permits governing performance, inspections, and allocation of use. In addition, the Forest Service is revising the directives governing insurance requirements for Forest Service special use permits. Public comment was considered in the development of the final directives, and a response to comments is included in this notice.

The USDA, Forest Service is seeking comments on forest certification and its implications for America's national forests. This Federal Register notice is to serve as a formal public solicitation of views on the question of National Forest System certification and its implications, if national forest lands were to become certified under one or both of the two major certification systems being used in the United States. The U.S. Forest Service, which manages 193 million acres, or approximately eight percent of the nation's land, believes that it is important to better understand the implications of third- party certification of National Forest System (NFS) lands and, in 2005, began exploring independent, third party certification as a potential option. To this end, the Forest Service initiated the National Forest Certification Study, which resulted in the report, ``National Forest Certification Study: An Evaluation of the Application of Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) and Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) Standards on Five National Forests.'' This report documents the study in which third-party auditors evaluated current forest management practices on five national forest units using the existing certification standards of two certification programs, Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) and Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Recognizing that the Forest Service has not decided whether it will seek certification, public outreach and discussion is requested to obtain public and stakeholder views on the National Forest Certification Study and its associated report, as well as the potential implications of NFS certification in general before determining how to proceed. In addition to comments on the National Forest Certification Study, the Forest Service is particularly interested in public views on the following questions: 1. What are your general views on the implications of independent, third party certification of NFS lands? 2. Would certification improve the management of national forests? 3. Could certification make it more difficult to achieve national forest management goals? 4. What questions would certification be able to answer, and what needs would it be able to meet, on national forest lands? 5. Are there key questions or needs that certification would be unable or poorly suited to address? 6. Would independent, third party certification be an appropriate or effective tool, given the unique role of national forests? Or, because of that unique role, would certification be particularly inappropriate or ineffective? Detailed information about the NFS Certification Study is available on the following Web site: https://www.fs.fed.us/projects/ forestcertification/index.shtml.

This final rule amends the historical license reduction provisions of the dairy tariff-rate import quota licensing program by suspending the provisions with respect to the reduction of historical licenses based on surrenders of unused quantities until 2011.

This final rule implements a legislative provision on milk substitutes that is consistent with current regulations on menu exceptions for students with disabilities and adds requirements for the optional substitution of nondairy beverage for fluid milk for children with medical or special dietary needs in the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program. Specifically, this final rule establishes nutrient standards for nondairy beverage alternatives to fluid milk, allows schools to accept a written substitution request from a parent or legal guardian, grants schools discretion to select the acceptable nondairy beverages, and continues to make school food authorities responsible for substitution expenses that exceed the Federal reimbursement. This rule ensures consistency of standards among milk substitutes offered in the school lunch and breakfast programs, and assures that students who consume nondairy beverage alternates receive important nutrients found in fluid milk.

The Forest Service has accepted an application for a special use authorization from White Pines Wind Farm LLC for the installation and operation of 20 to 28 wind turbines and associated infrastructure to provide between 50 and 70 megawatts (MW) of wind energy on National Forest System (NFS) lands managed by the Huron-Manistee National Forests. The White Pines Wind Farm Project (the Project) would occupy approximately 75 acres of NFS land within a Project Area of about 10,000 acres on the Cadillac-Manistee Ranger District over its proposed 30-year life.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency delivering the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development and/or the Agency, is extending the public comment period for the public scoping in preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed action by Minnkota Power Cooperative (Minnkota Power), Otter Tail Power Company, and Minnesota Power to construct a 230 kV electric transmission line from Bemidji to Grand Rapids, Minnesota. Rural Development and the State of Minnesota Office of Energy Security (OES) are jointly preparing an EIS to evaluate the potential impacts of the proposed transmission line pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (U.S.C. 4231 et seq.) in accordance with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations for implementing the procedural provisions of NEPA (40 CFR 1500-1508), 36 CFR 800.2(a); section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act 16 U.S.C. 470f and its implementing regulations, ``Protection of Historic Properties'' (36 CFR Part 800); the Minnesota Environmental Policy Act (MEPA), Minnesota Statute, Chapter 116D.04; the Minnesota Power Plant Siting Act (MPPSA); Minnesota Statute, Chapter 216 E.03 and Minnesota Rules, Chapter 4400. The U.S. Forest Service-Chippewa National Forest, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe are participating as Cooperating Agencies in development of the EIS. Two public scoping documents, an Alternatives Evaluation Study (AES) and a Macrocorridor Study (MCS), were prepared to provide public information on the proposed project. Using information from the AES and the MCS and considering input provided by government agencies, private organizations, and the public, Rural Development and OES, in consultation with the Cooperating Agencies, will determine the scope of the EIS. The MCS Study included maps of only three of the four transmission line corridor alternatives. This report has been updated to include the map of four transmission line macrocorridor options that are currently part of the study area. Notices distributed in local areas to notify the public of the proposed project included only one macrocorridor option with two route alternatives the applicants proposed in the State of Minnesota Route Permit Application. To ensure that interested parties located within the any of the four transmission line macrocorridor alternatives are provided adequate opportunity for comment, notices are being reissued and the public comment period is being extended for one month.

We are advising the public that we have made changes to the area in the State of Idaho that is quarantined to prevent the spread of potato cyst nematode. The description of the quarantined area was updated on June 27, 2008, when nine fields were released from designation as quarantined areas and four fields were added as quarantined areas.

A review of this Privacy Act System of Records has concluded that this system is no longer in effect and obsolete. This system is being abolished from the Forest Service System of Records in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Eastern Region Recreation Resource Advisory Committee will hold its fourth meeting at the Crowne Plaza, 5700 E. 28th St. SE., Grand Rapids, MI, on October 8, 2008. The purpose of the meeting is to receive recommendations concerning recreation fee proposals on areas managed by the Forest Service in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Minnesota, Michigan and Wisconsin; and to discuss other items of interest related to the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004. A final detailed agenda, with any additions/corrections to agenda topics, location, field trips and meeting times, will be sent to regional media sources at least 14 days before the meeting, and hard copies can also be mailed or sent via FAX. Individuals who need special assistance such as sign language interpretation or other reasonable accommodations, or who wish a hard copy of the agenda, should contact Marcia Heymen at 414-297-3662 (voice) or 414-944-3969 (TTY/TDD) two weeks prior to the meeting.

This rule reinstates the continuing assessment rate established for the Area No. 3 Colorado Potato Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2008-2009 and subsequent fiscal periods at $0.02 per hundredweight of potatoes handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order regulating the handling of potatoes grown in northern Colorado. The continuing assessment rate was suspended for the 2006-2007 and subsequent fiscal periods to bring the monetary reserve within the program limit of two fiscal periods' operating expenses. Assessments upon potato handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period began on July 1 and ends June 30. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee will hold meetings on September 16, 2008 and September 22, 2008 or September 23, 2008 at the U.S. Forest Service Office, 35 College Drive, South Lake Tahoe, CA 96150. 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 Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending its regulations to reference the most recent version of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Handbook 133 that contains standards for determining the reasonable variations allowed for the declared net weight on labels of immediate containers of meat and poultry products; the procedures to be used to determine the net weight and net weight compliance of meat and poultry products; and related definitions. The Agency is also consolidating the separate net weight regulations for meat and poultry products in a new CFR part, applicable to both meat and poultry products. This final rule does not incorporate by reference sections in Handbook 133 that concern the ``wet tare'' method for determining net weight. The ``wet tare'' method does not include free-flowing liquid as part of the product but as part of the tare weight. The Agency regards any solutions that are added to meat or poultry to be part of the product and considers free-flowing liquids to be an integral component of these products, and therefore uses the ``dry tare'', not the ``wet tare'' method.

A review of this Privacy Act System of Records has concluded that this system is no longer in effect and obsolete. This system is being abolished from the Forest Service System of Records in accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), as amended.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is amending the Federal poultry products inspection regulations to provide that turkey slaughter establishments that open turkey carcasses with Bar-type cuts may operate at the maximum line speeds established for J-type cuts if the establishment uses the specific type of shackle described in this final rule. Under this final rule, as under current regulations, the inspector in charge will reduce line speeds when, in his or her judgment, the prescribed inspection procedure cannot be adequately performed within the time available because of the health conditions of a particular flock or because of other factors. Such factors include the manner in which birds are being presented to the inspector and the level of contamination among the birds on the line.

The Forest Service intends to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to disclose the effects of designating National Forest System roads, trails, and areas available for public motorized use on the Sioux Ranger District (District), Custer National Forest. The decision will determine whether to add to or remove routes from the current network of National Forest System roads, trails, and areas for public motorized use on the District; designate the season of use and type of vehicle use for each road, trail, and area designated for public motorized use; and identify dispersed vehicle camping designations. Once a decision is made, a Motor Vehicle Use Map (MVUM) will be prepared and distributed in compliance with the Forest Service's 2005 Motorized Travel Management Rule (36 CFR 212). The MVUM will show all routes and areas that are designated for public motorized use on the District. The MVUM will be the primary tool used for enforcement of motorized vehicle use designations on the ground. Those routes not designated on the MVUM will be legally closed to public motorized travel. This decision on motorized travel does not include motorized over-the-snow travel.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) published on August 1, 2008, an interim final rule concerning one set of administrative requirements that contain elements common to all of the competitive and noncompetitive non-formula grant programs the Agency administers. That document contained an invalid E- mail address for the submission of comments. This document adds a valid E-mail address and extends the comment period for 30 days.

This rule provides regulations to administer the Specialty Crop Block Grant ProgramFarm Bill (SCBGP-FB) to enhance the competitiveness of specialty crops. This rule is intended to establish eligibility and application requirements and grant administration procedures for the SCBGP-FB consistent with the Food, Conversation, and Energy Act of 2008 (Farm Bill) amendments to the Specialty Crops Competitiveness Act of 2004. This program is separate from the Specialty Crop Block Grant Program (SCBGP) found in 7 CFR part 1290.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency delivering the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural Development Utilities Programs, hereinafter referred to as Rural Development and/or Agency, intends to hold a public scoping meeting and prepare an Environmental Assessment (EA) in connection with potential impacts related to projects proposed by Associated Electric Cooperative, Inc. (AECI) of Springfield, Missouri. The proposal consists of the construction of a new 540- megawatt gas-fired combustion combined-cycle generation unit at the existing Chouteau Power Plant, a new substation approximately two miles east of the existing plant, a 161-kV transmission line from the existing plant to the new substation, and a single circuit 345-kV line from the new substation to the existing Grand River Dam Authority (GRDA) Coal-Fired Power Plant in Mayes County, Oklahoma. AECI is requesting financing assistance from the Agency for the proposed action.

An interim final rule published July 31, 2008 amending the manufacturing cost allowances and the butterfat yield factor used in Class III and Class IV product-price formulas applicable in all Federal milk marketing orders had an effective date of September 1, 2008. The effective date of the Interim Rule will now be October 1, 2008. The rule's effective date is delayed because a complaint to enjoin the implementation of the revised manufacturing allowances and butterfat yield factor was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Delaying implementation allows sufficient time for a preliminary injunction hearing.