Department of Agriculture 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule increases the amount of cash value vouchers from $8.00 to $10.00 issued to pregnant, postpartum and partially breastfeeding women participants for the purchase of fruits and vegetables as part of the WIC food packages. In the ``WIC Food Package'' interim rule published December 6, 2007, the Department was not able to provide all women participants fruit and vegetable cash value vouchers at the level recommended by the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM). To be cost neutral, only fully breastfeeding women were provided the IOM recommended amount of $10.00 per month fruit and vegetable cash value vouchers; all other women participants were provided $8.00 per month fruit and vegetable cash value vouchers. This rule amends the interim rule to provide all Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) women participants with $10.00 per month fruit and vegetable cash value vouchers, consistent with IOM's recommendations. The Fiscal Year 2010 Agriculture Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 111-80), enacted on October 21, 2009, provides the funding for this increase.

The Ketchikan Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Ketchikan, Alaska, January 20, 2010. The purpose of this meeting is to discuss potential projects under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2008.

The Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact statement (EIS) to disclose the environmental effects of commercial and non-commercial vegetation management, prescribed burning, and watershed improvement activities which include intermittent stored service work or decommissioning of system roads. Access management changes and other design features are also included to protect resources and facilitate management activities. The project is located in the Lake and Spar planning subunits on the Three Rivers Ranger District, Kootenai National Forest, Lincoln County, Montana, south of Troy, Montana.

As directed by the National Forest Management Act, the USDA Forest Service is preparing the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests' revised land management plan (forest plan) and will also prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for this revised forest plan. This notice briefly describes the nature of the decision to be made, the need for change and proposed action, and information concerning public participation. It also provides estimated dates for filing the EIS and

We are amending the regulations to add the Republic of Korea to the list of regions that are considered free of rinderpest and foot- and-mouth disease (FMD). We are taking this action because we have conducted an evaluation and determined that the Republic of Korea is free of rinderpest and FMD. We are also adding the Republic of Korea to the list of regions that are subject to certain import restrictions on meat and meat products because of their proximity to or trading relationships with rinderpest- or FMD-affected countries. These actions will update the disease status of the Republic of Korea with regard to rinderpest and FMD while continuing to protect the United States from an introduction of those diseases by providing additional requirements for meat and other animal products imported into the United States from the Republic of Korea.

This rule implements specific requirements for the new Supplemental Revenue Assistance Payments Program (SURE) authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (the 2008 Farm Bill). SURE provides disaster assistance to eligible participants who have experienced qualifying crop production losses, or crop quality losses, or both, occurring in crop year 2008 through September 30, 2011. All crops for which crop insurance or noninsured crop disaster assistance program (NAP) coverage is available are eligible crops for SURE. To be eligible for SURE payments, participants must meet a risk management purchase requirement, with some exceptions, and have suffered a qualifying loss due to disaster. A qualifying loss is a loss of at least 10 percent of a crop of economic significance on a participant's farm in a disaster county (a county for which a Secretarial disaster declaration has been issued or a county contiguous to such a county), or on a participant's farm with an overall loss greater than 50 percent of normal production (expected revenue for all crops on the farm) due to disaster. This rule specifies how a qualifying loss is determined, how SURE payments are calculated, and how and when participants may apply for payment.

The Mark Twain National Forest is proposing to begin charging a $50 fee for the overnight rental of Sinking Tower Cabin. Rentals of other cabins on other National Forests have shown that people appreciate and enjoy the availability of historic rental cabins. Funds from the rental will be used for the continued operation and maintenance of Sinking Tower Cabin. People are invited to comment on this proposal. This fee is only proposed and will be determined upon further analysis and public comment.

The North Central Idaho RAC will meet in Grangeville, Idaho. The committee is meeting as authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110-343) and in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss potential projects for the new fiscal year.

The Bighorn National Forest, Powder River Ranger District, is proposing to charge a $10.00 per vehicle fee (Standard Amenity Recreation Fee) for use of the site amenities at West Tensleep Trailhead. All of the amenities are in place except for trash pickup. This amenity would be in place prior to fee implementation. This trailhead is the most heavily visited access point for the Cloud Peak Wilderness on the Bighorn National Forest. Funds from the fee will be used for the continued operation and maintenance of this site including, but not limited to: restroom cleaning and maintenance, trash pickup, sign maintenance, and law enforcement presence.

The final rule entitled Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): Vendor Cost Containment was published on October 8, 2009. The Office of Management and Budget cleared the associated information collection requirements (ICR) on November 2, 2009. This document announces approval of the ICR.

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 (OMB), for an extension for and revision to a currently approved information collection for Federal Seed Act Labeling and Enforcement.

The Department of Agriculture (the Department) is issuing this final rule to comply with a June 30, 2009, Federal District Court order that has the effect of reinstating the National Forest System Land and Resource Management Planning Rule of November 9, 2000, as amended (2000 rule). This action announces the court's decision and takes the ministerial (formal) action of reinstating the rule in the Code of Federal Regulations. This action also makes technical amendments to that rule, including the interpretative rules issued in 2001 and 2004, to update transition provisions that will be in effect until a new planning rule is issued, as announced elsewhere in today's Federal Register.

We are amending the bovine tuberculosis regulations to adjust the boundaries of the modified accredited and modified accredited advanced tuberculosis risk classification zones for the State of Michigan. We have determined that Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Crawford, Emmet, and Otsego Counties, MI, which are currently designated as modified accredited, now meet our requirements for modified accredited advanced status. Therefore, we are removing these six counties from the list of modified accredited zones and adding them to the list of modified accredited advanced zones. This action lessens restrictions on the interstate movement of cattle and bison from these areas of Michigan.

The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council, (NUCFAC) will be filling four positions that will be expiring at the end of December 2009, and one interim term position. Interested applicants may download a copy of the application and position descriptions from the U.S. Forest Service's Urban and Community Forestry Web site: https://www.fs.fed.us/ucf/.

The USDA Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to document the analysis and disclose environmental impacts of proposed actions to continue long-term research on the Fernow Experimental Forest, and to manage the Fernow Experimental Forest for long-term ecological research. The purpose of the proposed research is to evaluate the effectiveness of silvicultural tools that include harvesting, herbicide control of vegetation, fertilization and prescribed burning on central Appalachian forests, to better understand ecological dynamics within these forest ecosystems, and to develop management tools, practices and guidelines for central Appalachian hardwood forests.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is publishing a final rule that sets forth the policies for State Technical Committees at 7 CFR part 610, subpart C. NRCS published the State Technical Committee interim final rule in the Federal Register on November 25, 2008. NRCS published standard operating procedures for State Technical Committees as a notice in the Federal Register on April 7, 2009. The public was invited to comment on both the interim final rule and the standard operating procedures. This final rule incorporates changes made to 7 CFR part 610, subpart C, in response to public comments received on the interim final rule and the standard operating procedures. Subsequent to the publication of this final rule, and utilizing the comments received, NRCS will make further updates to its standard operating procedures.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will hold a public meeting on January 5, 2010, for interested stakeholders to discuss the issue of evaluating environmental assessment of biobased products, including the proposed determination and use of product life cycle assessment (LCA), as that issue pertains to (1) The designation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture of biobased products for a Federal procurement preference, as mandated by the 2008 Farm Bill, and (2) the need for supplementary information about a product's environmental aspects under the pending ``USDA Certified Biobased Product'' labeling program. Given the growing importance of biobased products to consumers, industry, and government, there is a clear need to assess the sustainability of these products, and to do so using an agreed-upon and credible process/procedure.

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 (OMB), for an extension of and revision to the currently approved information collection for the Seed Service Testing Program.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of animal byproducts to require that untanned swine hides and skins from regions with African swine fever and bird trophies from regions with exotic Newcastle disease meet certain requirements or go directly to an approved establishment upon importation into the United States. We are also setting out certain requirements for the importation of untanned bovine, deer, and other ruminant hides and skins into the United States from Mexico to prevent the spread of bovine babesiosis. These requirements will provide for the importation of these articles under conditions intended to prevent the introduction of African swine fever, bovine babesiosis, and exotic Newcastle disease.

The Custer County Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Custer, South Dakota. The purpose of the meeting is review and selection of project proposals to be funded by the 2009 allocation.

This notice announces the surplus and purchased foods that the Department expects to make available for donation to States for use in providing nutrition assistance to the needy under The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2010. The foods made available under this notice must, at the discretion of the State, be distributed to eligible recipient agencies for use in preparing meals and/or for distribution to households for home consumption.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the extension of a currently approved information collection; Public Attitudes, Beliefs, and Values about National Forest Systems Land Management.