Department of Agriculture February 11, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Lake Tahoe Basin Federal Advisory Committee will hold a meeting on February 28, 2011 at the Lake Tahoe Community College, Aspen Room, 1 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.

We are giving notice that we have reestablished the Secretary's National Wildlife Services Advisory Committee for a 2-year period. The Secretary is soliciting nominations for membership on this Committee.

We are proposing to amend the regulations governing the importation of animals and animal products to add Estonia, Hungary, Slovakia, and Slovenia to the region of the European Union that we recognize as a low-risk region for classical swine fever (CSF). Swine, swine semen, pork, and pork products may be imported into the United States from this region under certain conditions. We are proposing to remove one of these conditions, a 40-day holding period for swine semen and donor boars after the collection of swine semen, based on our determination that it is unnecessary. We are also proposing to add Estonia, Slovakia, and Slovenia to the list of regions we consider free of swine vesicular disease (SVD) and to add Slovakia and Slovenia to the list of regions considered free of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) and rinderpest. These proposed actions would relieve some restrictions on the importation into the United States of certain animals and animal products from those regions, while continuing to protect against the introduction of CSF, SVD, FMD, and rinderpest into the United States.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for the Big Thorne Project located on Prince of Wales Island, part of the Thorne Bay Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. This proposal is the multi-year timber sale component of a larger stewardship effort that will include opportunities such as restoration and enhancement activities that will be identified through other environmental analyses. The overall effort will be implemented through the use of various contracting authorities available to the Forest Service, including timber sale, service, and stewardship contracts, by combining some of the timber harvest activities of this project with restoration and enhancement activities to be analyzed separately. This EIS will consider the cumulative effects of the timber harvest activities and reasonably foreseeable stewardship activities in the area.

Pursuant to the authorities in the Federal Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92-463) and under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000 (Pub. L. 106-393, as amended by H.R. 1424 January 3, 2008) the Lob National Forest's Mineral County Resource Advisory Committee will meet on February 23, March 30, April 13, and May 11, 2011 at 6 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. in Superior, Montana for a business meeting. The meeting is open to the public.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (Agency) is establishing the Repowering Assistance Program authorized under the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. Under this Program, the Agency will make payments to eligible biorefineries to encourage the use of renewable biomass as a replacement fuel source for fossil fuels used to provide process heat or power in the operation of eligible biorefineries.