Department of Agriculture 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Deschutes Provincial Advisory Committee will meet on July 22, 2011 to conduct a field trip to review projects relevant to the goals and objectives of the committee. Members will meet at the Deschutes National Forest Supervisor's office, Upper Deschutes Conference Room (1001 SW Emkay Drive, Bend Oregon) at 9 a.m. The field trip will be from 9:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. All Deschutes Province Advisory Committee meetings are open to the public.

The Lake Tahoe Federal Advisory Committee will meet in Incline Village, NV. 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 meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to provide updates on the 2011 Tahoe Summit held on August 16, 2011 and the Southern Nevada Public Management Act Executives meeting.

The Office of the Secretary of the Department of Agriculture is providing notice of an increase in the fiscal year (FY) 2011 specialty sugar tariff-rate quota (TRQ) of 9,072 metric tons raw value (MTRV). The Secretary also announces the establishment of the FY 2012 in-quota aggregate quantity of the raw, as well as, refined and specialty sugar TRQ as required under the U.S. World Trade Organization (WTO) commitments. The FY 2012 raw cane sugar TRQ is established at 1,117,195 MTRV that may be entered under subheading 1701.11.10 of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) during FY 2012 (October 1, 2011- September 30, 2012). In addition, the in-quota aggregate quantity of the refined and specialty sugar TRQ is established at 112,718 MTRV for certain sugars, syrups, and molasses (collectively referred to as refined sugar) that may be entered under subheadings 1701.12.10, 1701.91.10, 1701.99.10, 1702.90.10, and 2106.90.44 of the HTS during FY 2012. The Secretary also today announced that sugar entering the United States under the FY 2012 raw sugar import TRQ will be permitted to enter U.S. Customs territory beginning September 1, 2011, a month earlier than the usual first entry date of October 1. This latter action is in response to increased tightness in the U.S. raw sugar market. Additional U.S. Note 5(a) (iv) of Chapter 17 of the HTS authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to permit sugar allocated under a given quota period to be entered in a previous or subsequent quota year period.

This rule establishes a Softwood Lumber Research, Promotion, Consumer Education and Industry Information Order (Order). Softwood lumber is used in products like flooring, siding and framing. The program will be financed by an assessment on softwood lumber domestic manufacturers and importers and will be administered by a board of industry members selected by the Secretary of Agriculture (Secretary). The initial assessment rate will be $0.35 per thousand board feet of softwood lumber shipped within or imported to the United States. The purpose of the program is to strengthen the position of softwood lumber in the marketplace, maintain and expand markets for softwood lumber, and develop new uses for softwood lumber within the United States. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) conducted a referendum among eligible domestic softwood lumber manufacturers and importers from May 23 through June 10, 2011. Sixty-seven percent of those voting in the referendum representing 80 percent of the volume of softwood lumber represented in the referendum favored implementation of the program.

The Tehama County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Red Bluff, California. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110-343) (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with the title II of the Act. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the future of the committee and to closeout business for 2011.

The Plumas County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold a meeting on August 19, 2011 in Quincy, CA. This meeting was rescheduled from July 8, 2011. The purpose of the meeting is to review applications for Cycle 11 funding and select projects to be recommended to the Plumas National Forest Supervisor for calendar year 2012 funding consideration. The funding is made available under Title II provisions of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. Date & Address: The meeting will take place from 9-1:30 at the Mineral Building-Plumas/Sierra County Fairgrounds, 208 Fairgrounds Road, Quincy, CA.

The Prince of Wales Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Craig, Alaska, August 18, 2011. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110- 343) (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with the title II of the Act. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss potential projects under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2008.

The Virginia Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Roanoke, Virginia. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110-343) (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with title II of the Act. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is for the committee to select and prioritize projects for funding.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) announce the availability of the Gateway West Transmission Line Project DEIS and prospective draft Land Use Plan (LUP) Amendments. The DEIS analyzes the consequences of granting a right-of-way (ROW) to Idaho Power and Rocky Mountain Power for locating a 1,103-mile-long electric transmission line from the proposed Windstar Substation near the Dave Johnston Power Plant at Glenrock, Wyoming, to the proposed Hemingway Substation near Melba, Idaho. The project is composed of 10 transmission line segments of 230 and 500 kilovolts (kV); each segment would carry up to 3,000 megawatts (MW). The requested ROW width would generally be 300 feet but could range from 125 to 350 feet, depending on the design variation and structure type. The proposed route generally follows existing transmission lines and West-wide Energy (WWE) corridors designated pursuant to Section 368 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005. Approximately 610 miles (55 percent) of the proposed route is located within or adjacent to designated corridors or existing transmission lines. Approximately 500 miles (46 percent) of the total proposed length traverses Federally administered land in Idaho and Wyoming. In Idaho, approximately 280 miles of the proposed transmission lines would cross public land administered by seven BLM Field Offices: Bruneau, Burley, Four Rivers, Jarbidge, Owyhee, Pocatello, and Shoshone. In Wyoming, approximately 220 miles of the proposed transmission lines would cross public land administered by four BLM Field Offices: Casper, Kemmerer, Rawlins, and Rock Springs. The proposed route crosses approximately 16 miles in two units of the National Forest System: 7 miles in the Douglas Ranger District of the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest in Wyoming and 9 miles in the Montpelier Ranger District of the Caribou- Targhee National Forest in Idaho. In addition, the proposed route crosses approximately 5 miles of land administered by the Bureau of Reclamation. Alternative routes are proposed that would cross the Sawtooth National Forest in Idaho, the Fort Hall Indian Reservation, and the acquisition area of the Cokeville Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. One alternative route in Segment 7 extends 9.5 miles into Nevada with approximately 7 miles on public land administered by the Wells Field Office. This project includes prospective amendments of USFS Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans) and BLM land use plans (Management Framework Plans and Resource Management Plans). By this notice, and the Notice of Intent to prepare an EIS filed in May 2008 (see below), BLM is complying with requirements in 43 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) 1610.2(c) and the USFS is complying with 36 CFR 219.8 to notify the public of potential amendments to land use plans. The BLM and USFS are integrating the land use planning process with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) analysis process for this project. Your input is important and will be considered in the environmental analysis process. All comment submissions must include the commenter's name and street address. Comments including the names and addresses of the respondent will be available for public inspection at the locations listed below during their business hours (7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.), Monday through Friday, except Federal holidays. Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or any other personal identifying information in your comment, be advised that your entire comment, including your personal identifying information, may be publicly available at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold from public review your personal identifying information, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to do so.

The Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) announces it is inviting proposals for the Food for Progress (FFPr) program. The total resources available are estimated at about $160 million. The FFPr Program is administered by FAS.

The Allegheny Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Clarendon, Pennsylvania. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110-343) (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with the title II of the Act. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to review projects proposals submitted for funding consideration for completeness in preparation for the upcoming decision-making process.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the revision of a currently approved information collection, Airplane Pilot Qualifications and Approval Record, Helicopter Pilot Qualifications and Approval Record, Airplane Data Record, and Helicopter Data Record.

We are advising the public of our decision to authorize the importation into the continental United States of fresh persimmon fruit from the Republic of South Africa. Based on the findings of a pest risk analysis, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, we believe that the application of one or more designated phytosanitary measures will be sufficient to mitigate the risks of introducing or disseminating plant pests or noxious weeds via the importation of fresh persimmon fruit from South Africa.

The Pennington County Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Rapid City, SD. 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 review and make recommendations for approval of project proposals.

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, Locatable Minerals-36 CFR part 228, subpart A.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is proposing to amend its regulations to establish a common or usual name for raw meat and poultry products that do not meet standard of identity regulations and to which solutions have been added. Products with added solutions are sometimes referred to as ``enhanced products.'' The Agency is proposing that the common or usual name for such products include an accurate description of the raw meat or poultry component, the percentage of added solution incorporated into the raw meat or poultry product, and the individual ingredients or multi-ingredient components in the solution listed in the descending order of predominance by weight. FSIS is also proposing that the print for all words in the common or usual name appear in a single font size, color, and style of print and that the name appear on a single-color contrasting background. In addition, the Agency is proposing to remove the standard of identity regulation for ``ready-to-cook poultry products to which solutions are added.''

We are advising the public that a risk analysis has been prepared by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service concerning the foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) status of Japan and the risk of susceptible animals and animal products from Japan harboring the FMD virus. This evaluation will be used as a basis for determining whether the Animal and Plant Health Inspection again recognizes Japan as free of FMD and allows the importation of whole cuts of boneless beef from Japan to resume. Other ruminant meat and meat byproducts, as well as fresh pork, live ruminants, and live swine, would remain prohibited due to Japan's status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy, classical swine fever, and swine vesicular disease. We are making this evaluation available to the public for review and comment.

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 training related to animal diseases.

We are adopting as a final rule, with one change, an interim rule that amended the Karnal bunt regulations to make changes to the list of areas or fields regulated because of Karnal bunt, a fungal disease of wheat. Specifically, the interim rule added portions of the Buckeye/Pretoria area of Maricopa County, AZ, to the list of regulated areas and removed Throckmorton and Young Counties, TX, portions of Riverside County, CA, and certain areas in La Paz, Maricopa, and Pinal Counties, AZ, from the list of regulated areas based on our determination that those fields or areas meet our criteria for release from regulation. The interim rule was necessary to prevent the spread of Karnal bunt to noninfected areas of the United States and to relieve restrictions on certain areas that are no longer necessary. In the interim rule, we inadvertently removed two areas in Maricopa County, AZ, from the list of regulated areas. We are returning those areas to the list in this final rule.

The Yavapai County Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Prescott, Arizona. 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 orientate new committee members to the Secural Rural Schools Act, roles of members, guidelines for Title II, and the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The Sabine Resource Advisory Committee will meet in Hemphill, Texas. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (Pub. L. 110-343) (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act. The purpose of the committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with the title II of the Act. The meeting is open to the public. The purpose of the meeting is to discuss New Title II Project Proposals.

The Upper Rio Grande Resource Advisory Committee will meet in

The De Soto Resource Advisory Committee will meet in New