Department of Agriculture September 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

It has been determined by the NRCS State Conservationist for Virginia that changes must be made in the NRCS State Technical Guide specifically in practice standard: 528, Prescribed Grazing. This practice will be used to plan and install conservation practices.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim final rule that revised the regulatory period during which minimum grade, size, quality, and maturity requirements are in effect for onions grown in South Texas under Marketing Order No. 959 (order). The interim final rule shortened the regulatory period from March 1 through July 15 to March 1 through June 4. The relaxation in the interim final rule was necessary to enable producers and handlers to compete more effectively in the marketplace.

This rule invites comments on revisions to the nomination procedures and a change to a reporting date under the California date marketing order (order). The order regulates the handling of domestic dates produced or packed in Riverside County, California, and is administered locally by the California Date Administrative Committee (CDAC or committee). This rule would change the method of polling for nominees to the committee and the date on which CDAC Form 6 is due. These changes are expected to assist in the administration of the order by updating and streamlining committee program operations.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is issuing this Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) to assist the Agency in defining the conditions under which it will permit the voluntary claim ``natural'' to be used in the labeling of meat and poultry products. After considering comments on the ``natural'' claim submitted by the public in response to a Federal Register notice that the Agency issued on December 5, 2006, and the comments presented at a public meeting held by the Agency on December 12, 2006, FSIS has decided to solicit additional public input. FSIS has concluded that a further solicitation of comments could produce information that would help to clarify and resolve the issues surrounding the ``natural'' claim. Moreover, additional comment will help FSIS to assess how best to coordinate its regulation of ``natural'' claims with the standards for voluntary marketing claims developed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), particularly with AMS's ``naturally raised'' marketing claim standard.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the new information collection, ``Secure Rural Schools Act, County Certification of Title III Expenditures.''

This rule implements specific requirements for the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees, and Farm-Raised Fish Program (ELAP) and the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP) authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill). LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers that have suffered livestock grazing losses due to qualifying drought or fire. For drought, the losses must have occurred on land that is native or improved pastureland with permanent vegetative cover or is planted to a crop planted specifically for grazing for covered livestock due to a qualifying drought during the normal grazing period for the county. For fire, LFP provides payments to eligible livestock producers that have suffered grazing losses on rangeland managed by a Federal agency if the eligible livestock producer is prohibited by the Federal agency from grazing the normal permitted livestock on the managed rangeland due to a qualifying fire. ELAP provides emergency assistance to eligible producers of livestock, honeybees, and farm-raised fish that have losses due to disease, adverse weather, or other conditions, including losses due to blizzards and wildfires, as determined by the Secretary. ELAP assistance is for losses not covered under other Supplemental Agricultural Disaster Assistance Payment programs established by the 2008 Farm Bill, specifically LFP, Livestock Indemnity Program (LIP), and Supplemental Revenue Assistance Program (SURE). Eligible LFP and ELAP losses must have occurred on or after January 1, 2008, and before October 1, 2011. This rule specifies how LFP and ELAP payments are calculated, what losses are eligible, and when producers may apply for payments.

The Forest Service is proposing the Kelsey Peak Timber Sale and Fuelbreak Project to provide timber products to local economies, reduce tree densities, improve watershed conditions and provide defensible space to improve fire protection and human safety. The Kelsey Peak planning area encompasses approximately 19,245 acres; 18,858 acres are National Forest System (NFS) lands and 398 acres are in private ownership. The project would treat approximately 4,789 acres of NFS lands by harvesting timber through thinning on approximately 2,249 acres and create 2,540 acres of fuel corridors.

This is an affirmation by the Department of an interim rule as a final rule, without change amending the WIC Farmers' Market Nutrition Program (FMNP) regulations to codify three FMNP nondiscretionary provisions mandated in the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004. The three nondiscretionary provisions include the option to authorize roadside stands, a reduction in the required amount of State matching funds, and an increase in the maximum Federal benefit level. These changes are intended to increase State agency flexibility in managing the Program. The first two provisions became effective on October 1, 2004, while the increased maximum Federal FMNP benefit level was effective as of June 30, 2004.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the intention of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO) to request approval for the continuation of information collection necessary to allow USDA customers to securely and confidently share data and receive services electronically. Authority for obtaining information from customers is included in the Freedom to E-File Act, the Electronic Signatures in Global and National Commerce Act (E-SIGN), and the E-Government Act of 2002. Customer information is collected through the USDA eAuthentication Service (eAuth), located at https:// www.eauth.egov.usda.gov. The USDA eAuth provides the public and government businesses with a single sign-on capability for USDA applications, management of user credentials, and verification of identity, authorization, and electronic signatures. USDA's eAuth obtains customer information through an electronic self registration process provided through the eAuth Web site. This voluntary online self registration process enables USDA customers, as well as employees, to obtain accounts as authorized users that will provide single sign-on capability to access USDA Web applications and services via the Internet. The USDA eAuthentication system stems from the Web-based Centralized Authentication and Authorization Facility (WebCAAF), the former USDA authentication system.

On December 15, 2000, the USDA Forest Service published a notice of intent (65 FR 78464-78465) to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for a proposed invasive plant control project on the Carson and Santa Fe national forests. A draft EIS was completed and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice of availability (NOA) in the Federal Register on July 16, 2004 (69 FR 42722). A NOA for the final EIS was published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2005 (70 FR 69967).

The Pacific Northwest Recreation Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Portland, OR. The purpose of the meeting is to review and provide recommendations on recreation fee proposals for facilities and services offered on lands managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management in Oregon and Washington, under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act of 2004.

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).

This rule decreases the assessment rate established for the Prune Marketing Committee (Committee) for the 2009-10 and subsequent crop years from $0.30 to $0.16 per ton of salable dried prunes. The Committee locally administers the marketing order that regulates the handling of dried prunes in California. Assessments upon dried prune handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The crop year begins August 1 and ends July 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This final rule amends the marketing order for oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and tangelos grown in Florida. The amendments were proposed by the Citrus Administrative Committee (committee), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The amendments will modify committee representation by cooperative entities; allow substitute alternates to temporarily represent absent members at committee meetings; authorize the committee to conduct meetings by telephone or other means of communication; and authorize the committee to conduct research and promotion programs, including paid advertising, for fresh Florida citrus. The amendments are intended to improve the operation and administration of the order and provide the industry with additional tools for the marketing of fresh citrus.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) is announcing a forthcoming meeting of the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB).

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 introduction of organisms and products altered or produced through genetic engineering.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service published a document in the Federal Register of July 22, 2009, concerning the collection of information.

The USDA Forest Service, Eldorado National Forest will not prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for a proposal to treat approximately 4,637 acres of selected plantations on the Georgetown and Pacific Ranger Districts with a combination of mechanical precommercial thinning and control of competitive vegetation using mechanical and chemical treatments.

This rule relaxes the size requirements for potatoes handled under the marketing order for Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes and for long type potatoes imported into the United States. This rule revises the size requirements to allow: Creamer size (\3/4\ inch to 1\5/8\ inches diameter) for all varieties of potatoes to be handled if the potatoes otherwise meet U.S. No. 1 grade; and round type potatoes to be handled without regard to size so long as the size is specified on the container in connection with the grade. The changes are intended to improve the handling and marketing of Idaho-Eastern Oregon potatoes and increase returns to producers. The changes would also allow the importation of Creamer size long type potatoes under regulations as authorized by section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937.

This rule invites comments on changes to the handling regulations prescribed under Marketing Agreement and Order No. 983 (order), which regulates the handling of pistachios. The changes were recommended by the Administrative Committee for Pistachios (committee), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The changes would bring the current handling regulations into conformance with proposed amendments to the order by including certain regulatory language currently contained in the order's provisions in the order's administrative rules and regulations, lifting the suspension of certain language, removing obsolete language, and revising references to renumbered order provisions.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is publishing as a final rule one set of administrative requirements that contain elements common to all of the competitive and noncompetitive non-formula Federal assistance programs the Agency administers. In a relatively short period of time, this allows CSREES to apply basic rules to Federal assistance programs that had been operating without them, including new non-formula Federal assistance programs created by the enactment of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) and to efficiently implement changes to programs with existing regulations as required by FCEA. The provisions in subparts A through E serve as a single Agency resource codifying current practices simply and coherently for almost all CSREES competitive and noncompetitive non-formula Federal assistance programs except the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program and the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). As specific rules are developed for each CSREES Federal assistance program, CSREES will propose adding a subpart for that Federal assistance program to this regulation. This final rule is published with a first set of program- specific Federal assistance regulations as subpart F for the Specialty Crop Research Initiative, authorized under section 412 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998, as added by section 7311 of FCEA.

The Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) is publishing a set of specific administrative requirements for the Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program (BFRDP) to supplement the Competitive and Noncompetitive Non-Formula Federal Assistance ProgramsGeneral Award Administrative Provisions for this program. The BFRDP is authorized undersection 7405 of the Farm Security and Rural Investment Act of 2002, as amended by section 7410 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008.

We are making a correction to the notice that requested a revision of a currently approved information collection associated with Request for Aerial Photography. The notice was published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2009 (74 FR 14769-14770). The original notice inadvertently only included the burden for one of the two forms in the information collection request. This corrects that oversight.

This notice announces that the Farm Service Agency (FSA), on behalf of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC), intends to complete a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) assessing the environmental impacts of changes to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) required by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Farm Bill).