Department of Agriculture June 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces the availability of up to $7 million in Fiscal Year 2012 for competitive grants to assist communities with extremely high energy costs. This grant program is authorized under section 19 of the Rural Electrification Act of 1936 (RE Act) (7 U.S.C. 918a) and program regulations at 7 CFR part 1709. The grant funds may be used to acquire, construct, extend, upgrade, or otherwise improve energy generation, transmission, or distribution facilities serving communities in which the average residential expenditure for home energy exceeds 275 percent of the national average. Eligible applicants include persons, States, political subdivisions of States, and other entities organized under State law. Federally-recognized Indian Tribes and Tribal entities are eligible applicants. This notice describes the eligibility and application requirements, the criteria that will be used by RUS to award funding, and information on how to obtain application materials. The Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number for this program is 10.859. You may obtain the Application Guide and materials for the Assistance to High Energy Cost Rural Communities Grant Program via the Internet at the following Web site: https://www.rurdev.usda.gov/UEP_Our_Grant_ Programs.html. You may also request the Application Guide and materials from RUS by contacting the individual listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of this notice.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments on the revision of a currently approved information collection, form FS-7700-40, Application for Permit, Non-Federal Commercial Use of Roads Restricted by Order. The revised information collection is entitled, ``Application for a Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation or Order.'' The Forest Service is also seeking comment on an associated new information collection, form FS-7700-NEW (form number to be determined), Permit for Use of Roads, Trails, or Areas Restricted by Regulation or Order, and renewal of an associated existing information collection, form FS-7700-41, Non-Federal Commercial Road Use Permit.

Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested people and organizations on the extension of a currently approved information collection, objections to new land management plans, plan amendments, and plan revisions.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Rural Housing Service's (RHS) intent to reinstate a previously approved information collection in support of the Single Family Housing Guaranteed Loan Program.

We are announcing the creation of a new Plant Protection and Quarantine Web site that will provide stakeholders with information about the commodity import approval process for plants and plant products and give them the opportunity to consult with us on risk assessments as they are being drafted. We are doing this in response to stakeholder requests for more information about the commodity import approval process and the opportunity to comment on draft risk assessments. This Web site will make the commodity import approval process more visible to stakeholders and allow them to comment on draft risk assessments.

We are amending the plants for planting regulations to provide conditions for the importation into the continental United States of Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica. These conditions will apply to plants less than 460 mm in length, which are currently allowed to be imported, and will also allow for the importation of plants over 460 mm and up to 1,371.6 mm in length, which are currently prohibited. As a condition of entry, Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica will have to be produced in accordance with integrated pest risk management measures that will include requirements for registration of place of production and packinghouses, a pest management plan, inspection for quarantine pests, sanitation, and traceability from place of production through the packing and export facility and to the port of entry into the United States. All Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica will also be required to be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate with an additional declaration stating that all conditions for the importation of the plants have been met and that the consignment of plants has been inspected and found free of quarantine pests. This action will allow for the importation of oversized Dracaena spp. plants from Costa Rica into the United States while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of quarantine pests.

This final rule amends Marketing Agreement and Order No. 987 (order), which regulates the handling of domestic dates produced or packed in Riverside County, California. The amendments approved by producers in referendum were proposed by the California Date Administrative Committee (CDAC or committee), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The amendments are intended to improve administration of and compliance with the order and reflect current industry practices. Two amendments proposed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) were not approved in referendum.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Departmental Management (DM), Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Coordination (OHSEC), published in the Federal Register on October 6, 2011, a notice of the proposed Radiation Safety Management System (RSMS). The notice is being corrected to provide the location of the system and paper records.

The South Mississippi Electric Power Association (SMEPA), a rural electric generation and transmission cooperative, has approached the USDA Rural Utilities Service (RUS, the Agency) for financial assistance through which SMEPA would acquire a 17.5% undivided ownership interest in Plant Ratcliff, an Integrated Gasification Combined-Cycle (IGCC) Project currently under construction in Kemper County, Mississippi (hereinafter ``the Project'') and owned by Mississippi Power Company (MPCo). In accordance with RUS Environmental Policies and Procedures, 7 CFR 1794, RUS has discretion in determining whether a proposal is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321, when potential borrowers will have only partial ownership of a project for which they are requesting financing (7 CFR 1794.20, Control). Though acknowledging that RUS financing will provide SMEPA with significantly limited control of the Project, RUS considers the Project subject to NEPA and to the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) and its implementing regulations at 36 CFR part 800. This notice documents the efforts undertaken by RUS to ensure compliance with NEPA, NHPA, and all other applicable environmental laws and regulations through the adoption of the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) prepared for the Project by the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE).

This notice informs the public of the sanitary and phytosanitary standard-setting activities of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), in accordance with section 491 of the Trade Agreements Act of 1979, as amended, and the Uruguay Round Agreements Act, Public Law 103-465, 108 Stat. 4809. This notice also provides a list of other standard-setting activities of Codex, including commodity standards, guidelines, codes of practice, and revised texts. This notice, which covers the time periods from June 1, 2011, to May 31, 2012, and June 1, 2012, to May 31, 2013, seeks comments on standards under consideration and recommendations for new standards.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to request revision and extension of a currently approved information collection for the Floriculture Survey. Revision to burden hours will be needed due to changes in the size of the target population, sampling design, and/or questionnaire length.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to US Agriseeds of San Luis Obispo, California, an exclusive license to the variety of pepper described in Plant Variety Protection Certificate Number 200700006, ``TigerPaw-NR'', issued on August 20, 2009.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to the University of Nebraska-Lincoln of Lincoln, Nebraska, an exclusive license to the wheat variety named ``Mattern''.

This final rule amends Marketing Agreement and Order No. 983 (order), which regulates the handling of pistachios grown in California, Arizona, and New Mexico. The amendments were proposed by the Administrative Committee for Pistachios (Committee), which is responsible for local administration of the order. The amendments will provide authority to establish aflatoxin and quality regulations for pistachios shipped to export markets, including authority to establish different regulations for different markets; change a related section of the order concerning substandard pistachios to conform to the proposed addition of export authority; and correct an erroneous cross- reference to another section of the order. These amendments are intended to provide authority to ensure uniform and consistent aflatoxin and quality regulations in the domestic and various export markets.

The Secretary of Agriculture has established the Pacific Northwest Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (Recreation RACs) pursuant to Section 4 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (REA) that was passed into law as part of the 2005 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. 108-447) on December 8, 2004. The purpose of this Recreation RAC is to provide recommendations regarding recreation fees to both the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) as appropriate. There are currently eleven vacancies on the Recreation RAC: Winter Motorized, Winter Non-motorized Recreation, Summer Motorized Recreation, Summer Non-motorized, Hunting and Fishing, Motorized Outfitter and Guide Recreation, Non-motorized Outfitter and Guide Recreation, Local Environmental, State Tourism, Local Government, and Tribal. The public is invited to submit nominations for membership on the Recreation RAC.

The Forest Service will prepare a Supplemental Draft Environmental Impact Statement (SDEIS) to disclose the environmental consequences of implementing alternatives considered for the Scriver Creek Integrated Restoration Project. Following the public review period for the SDEIS, the Forest Service will issue the Final EIS and Record of Decision (ROD) which will identify the alternative selected by the Responsible Official for implementation. The need for a SDEIS is to allow the Forest Service to clearly identify all permits, licenses and other entitlements which may be needed to implement the proposed activities that were not otherwise identified in the DEIS released December 30, 2011 (FR Vol. 76, No. 251; NOA for EIS No. 20110438). Specifically, an SDEIS is needed to identify that a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit may be required and comments on the SDEIS will be requested from the appropriate regulatory agencies and public to help assess whether such a permit is required. There have also been modifications made to the proposed action identified in the DEIS released December 30, 2011 concerning road systems, logging systems and watershed restoration opportunities as a result of updated field information. Additional alternatives may also be developed in response to comments received on the DEIS. Thus, the Responsible Official has determined that the purpose of the act [NEPA] would be furthered by issuing a SDEIS for additional review and comment prior to completion of the Final EIS.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 35, as amended), the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development administers rural utilities programs through the Rural Utilities Service. The USDA Rural Development invites comments on the following information collections for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, is proposing to supplement its National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations (36 CFR Part 220) with three new categorical exclusions for activities that restore lands negatively impacted by water control structures, natural and human caused events, and roads and trails. These categorical exclusions will allow the Forest Service to more efficiently analyze and document the potential environmental effects of soil and water restoration projects that are intended to restore the flow of waters into natural channels and floodplains by removing water control structures, such as dikes, ditches, culverts and pipes; restore lands and habitat to pre-disturbance conditions, to the extent practicable, by removing debris, sediment, and hazardous conditions following natural or human-caused events; and restore lands occupied by roads and trails to natural conditions. The proposed road and trail restoration category would be used for restoring lands impacted by non-system roads and trails that are no longer needed and no longer maintained. This category would not be used to make access decisions about which roads and trails are to be designated for public use.

We are amending a final rule, which will take effect when these amendments become effective, that will establish a herd certification program to control chronic wasting disease (CWD) in farmed or captive cervids in the United States. Under that rule, owners of deer, elk, and moose herds who choose to participate in the CWD Herd Certification Program would have to follow requirements for animal identification, testing, herd management, and movement of animals into and from herds. This document amends that final rule to provide that our regulations will set minimum requirements for the interstate movement of farmed or captive deer, elk, and moose but will not preempt State or local laws or regulations that are more restrictive than our regulations. This document requests public comment on that change. This document also amends the final rule to require farmed or captive deer, elk, and moose to participate in the Herd Certification Program and to be monitored for CWD for 5 years before they can move interstate, clarify our herd inventory procedures, establish an optional protocol for confirmatory DNA testing of CWD-positive samples, add a requirement to continue testing cervids that are killed or sent to slaughter from Certified herds, and make several other changes. These actions will help to control the incidence of CWD in farmed or captive cervid herds and prevent its spread.

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 its Animal Welfare Act regulations for the humane handling, care, treatment, and transportation of certain animals by dealers, research facilities, exhibitors, carriers, and intermediate handlers.

We are reopening the comment period for our interim rule that amended the regulations concerning the importation of animals and animal products to prohibit or restrict the importation of bird and poultry products from regions where any subtype of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is considered to exist. The interim rule also imposed restrictions concerning importation of live poultry and birds that have been vaccinated for certain types of HPAI, or that have been moved through regions where any subtype of HPAI is considered to exist. This action will give the public an additional opportunity to comment on the interim rule and on a change to its provisions that we are considering.

This proposed rule would amend the Lamb Promotion, Research, and Information Order (Order) to increase the assessment rate on all live ovine animals sold from $.005 per pound to $.007 per pound for producers, feeders, and seedstock producers, and from $.30 per head of ovine animals purchased for slaughter to $.42 per head for first handlers. The increase is provided for under the Order, which is authorized by the Commodity Promotion, Research, and Information Act of 1996 (Act). The American Lamb Board (Board), which administers the Order, recommended this action to maintain and expand their promotional, research, advertising, and communications programs.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) issues this final rule amending NRCS' informal appeal procedures as required by Title II of the Federal Crop Insurance Reform and Department of Agriculture Reorganization Act of 1994 (the 1994 Act). This final rule amends regulations promulgated by the interim final rule published on May 16, 2006, and also includes new language to address comments and make procedural and structural changes in relation to 6 years of implementation.