Department of Agriculture November 24, 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

This rule revises the nomination procedures and changes 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 changes the method of polling for nominees to the Committee and the date on which CDAC Form 6 is due. These changes will assist in the administration of the order by updating and streamlining Committee program operations.

In accordance with legislation implementing the results of the Uruguay Round of negotiations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, we are informing the public of the international standard- setting activities of the World Organization for Animal Health, the Secretariat of the International Plant Protection Convention, and the North American Plant Protection Organization, and we are soliciting public comment on the standards to be considered.

The Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement on a proposal to implement multiple resource management actions within the Nautilus Project area to implement the amended Black Hills National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan. The Nautilus Project area covers approximately 41,302 acres of National Forest System land and approximately 5,699 acres of interspersed private land northwest of Rapid City, South Dakota. Mountain pine beetle infestations are present within and adjacent to the project area. Therefore, the Nautilus environmental impact statement will be analyzed under the provisions of Title IV of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act. Proposed actions include a combination of vegetation and fuels treatments to reduce mountain pine beetle susceptibility, reduce fire hazard, improve watershed conditions, provide for a diversity of wildlife habitat, and provide for research forestry opportunities. The proposed action includes approximately 7,157 acres of commercial thinning, 7,311 acres of overstory removal, 10,954 acres of precommercial thinning, 2,134 acres of commercial seed cuts, 191 acres of group selection, 466 acres of individual tree selection, 764 acres of hardwood enhancement, 206 acres of meadow enhancement, 836 acres of old growth management, 354 acres of product-other-than-log thinning, and 411 acres of stand-alone prescribed burning, in addition, approximately 30,629 acres will be analyzed for prescribed burning following timber harvest although it is expected that approximately 10,000 acres of that total will actually be burned over a 10-15 year period. Approximately 15 miles of new road construction would be necessary to carry out the proposed vegetation management actions.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) proposes to amend the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Stonefruit Crop Insurance Provisions to allow coverage for plums under the Stonefruit Crop Insurance Provisions and to make other changes to clarify policy provisions. The proposed rule will also remove the Plum Crop Insurance Provisions from the Code of Federal Regulations. The intended effect of this action is to provide policy changes, to clarify existing policy provisions to better meet the needs of the producers, and to reduce vulnerability to program fraud, waste, and abuse. The changes will apply for the 2011 and succeeding crop years.