Department of Agriculture May 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's (APHIS') intention to request approval of a new information collection for information technology account management to ensure the security of APHIS systems from unauthorized access.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting nominations for membership on the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI). The full Committee consists of not more than 20 members, and each person selected is expected to serve a 2-year term.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC), operating through the Risk Management Agency (RMA), announces its intent to award approximately $5,000,000 to fund cooperative agreements under the Crop Insurance Education in Targeted States Program. Dates: All applications, which must be submitted electronically through https://rvs.umn.edu/Home.aspx, must be received by close of business (COB) on [11:59 p.m. EST] June 30, 2014. Hard copy applications will NOT be accepted. A tutorial on how to apply is available at https://rvs.umn.edu/rmaresources. Purpose: The purpose of the Targeted States program is to deliver crop insurance education and information to U.S. agricultural producers in States where there is traditionally, and continues to be a low level of Federal crop insurance participation and availability, and producers are underserved by the Federal crop insurance program. These states, defined as Targeted States for the purposes of this RFA, are Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Any cooperative agreements that may be funded will not exceed the maximum funding amount established for each of the Targeted States. Awardees must agree to the substantial involvement of RMA in the project. Applications submitted under this RFA must demonstrate how the proposed crop insurance education activities will help producers in Targeted States understand: The kinds of risks addressed by crop insurance; The features of existing and emerging crop insurance products such as AGR/AGR-lite or Whole Farm, Supplemental Coverage Option (SCO), and Stacked Income Protection Plan (STAX) where available; The use of crop insurance in the management of risk; How the use of crop insurance can affect other risk management decisions, such as the use of marketing and financial (including farm financial benchmarking) tools; and How to make informed decisions on crop insurance prior to the sales closing date deadline.

Notice is hereby given that the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, intends to grant to Washington State Crop Improvement Association of Pullman, Washington, an exclusive license to the chickpea variety named ``Nash.''

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and entities on an extension of a currently approved information collection associated with the FSA County Committee Elections. The collection of information from FSA Farmers and Ranchers is used to receive nominations from eligible voters for the County Committee.

The Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is making available for public comment a draft framework for implementing and maintaining a foreign animal disease zoning arrangement between the United States and Canada. The draft framework provides an operational plan for the two countries to recognize each other's decisions to control a highly contagious foreign animal disease outbreak through zoning. The draft framework also establishes a structure for maintaining the arrangement over time and strategies for engaging governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in any actions taken under the arrangement, including planning and preparedness. This zoning arrangement will facilitate continued trade between disease-free areas of the United States and Canada while safeguarding animal health in both countries.

This rule increases the assessment rate established for the California Desert Grape Administrative Committee (Committee) for the 2014 and subsequent fiscal periods from $0.0165 to $0.0200 per 18-pound lug of grapes handled. The Committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of grapes grown in a designated area of southeastern California. Assessments upon grape handlers are used by the Committee to fund reasonable and necessary expenses of the program. The fiscal period began on January 1 and ends on December 31. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Fishlake Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Richfield, Utah. 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 meetings are open to the public. The purpose of the meetings is to welcome new and returning members, review roles and responsibilties, elect a chairperson and review and recommend projects proposed for funding.

In a final rule that was published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2012, we amended and republished the list of select agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products; reorganized the list of select agents and toxins based on the relative potential of each select agent or toxin to be misused to adversely affect human, plant, or animal health; and amended the regulations in order to add definitions and clarify language concerning security, training, biosafety, biocontainment, and incident response. In that final rule we neglected to precisely align all of our regulatory language with that used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in their regulations and, in some cases, did not align our language in the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) regulations concerning plant health and plant products with that concerning animal health and animal products. As APHIS co-administers the select agent regulations with CDC, this document corrects inconsistencies in language between APHIS and CDC regulations. We are also correcting an improper term used in those sections of the regulations associated with identification of a viral strain or subspecies that is excluded from the requirements of the regulations, modifying the terms used when a select toxin is excluded from the regulations, clarifying those parts of the regulations that deal with temporary exemptions granted during periods of agricultural or public health emergencies, and adding language to specify that individuals not approved for access to registered space for activities not related to select agents or toxins (e.g., routine cleaning, maintenance, and repairs) would not have to be continuously escorted by an approved individual so long as those non-approved persons would not be able to gain access to select agents or toxins.

The National Advisory Committee for Implementation of the National Forest System Land Management Planning Rule (Committee) will meet in Missoula, Montana. Attendees may also participate via webinar and conference call. The Committee operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) (Pub. L. 92-463). Additional information relating to the Committee can be found by visiting the Committee's Web site at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/planningrule/ committee.

The Modoc Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Alturas, 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 meetings is discuss RAC business and projects that meet the intent of Public Law 110-343.

The Olympic Peninsula Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Olympia, Washington. 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 to review project proposals and make recommendations for 2014 Title II funds.

The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting public comments on a proposed revision to the United States Standards for Grades of Maple Sirup (Syrup). AMS received a petition from the International Maple Syrup Institute (IMSI) requesting a revision of the U.S. grade standards. IMSI stated it is interested in developing harmonized grade standards for maple syrup producers in the United States and Canada, and asked AMS to replace the current grade classification requirements with new color and flavor descriptors, and revise Grade A requirements to be free from damage. AMS is also proposing to change the spelling from ``sirup'' to the more commonly used term ``syrup.'' The proposed grade standards would revise the existing federal grade standards for maple sirup (syrup). The purpose of these proposed revisions would be to foster or assist in the development of new or expanded markets, and improve the marketing of maple syrup in the U.S. and internationally.

This final rule amends an existing provision in the regulations for the Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops Program (TASC). Section 3205 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 enacted on February 7, 2014, amended the existing TASC statute by striking ``related barriers to trade'' and inserting ``technical barriers to trade''. This rule makes the corresponding change to the TASC regulations.

The Forest Service proposes to revise Forest Service Manual (FSM 2500) and Handbook (FSH 2509.19) directives for best management practices (BMPs) for water quality protection on National Forest System (NFS) lands to establish a National system of BMPs and associated monitoring protocols and require their use on NFS lands in order to meet existing mandates under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act) (Pub. L. 92-500) and corresponding State laws. The National system of BMPs would provide a systematic approach to protect water quality from land and resource management activities taking place on National forests and grasslands and utilize suitable monitoring, and established Regional, State, Tribal, and local BMPs. These proposed revisions would help ensure the consistent use and monitoring of BMPs and provide appropriate analyses for evaluating BMP implementation and effectiveness on a regular basis. Public comment is invited and will be considered in development of the final directives.

As part of our implementation of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (commonly referred to as the 2014 Farm Bill), the Rural Business- Cooperative Service (RBS) is hosting a listening session for public input about the Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) for which USDA has been granted new authority to implement. The 2014 Farm Bill contains a provision outlining the details of this Initiative in Section 4206. The listening session will provide an opportunity for stakeholders to voice their comments, concerns, or requests regarding the implementation of this initiative. Instructions regarding registering for and attending the listening session are in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this notice.

The Sitka Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Silica, Alaska. 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 discuss new project proposals and update on exsisting RAC projects.

The Department of Agriculture is seeking nominations for the Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) Technical Advisory Panel (Panel) pursuant to Section 606 of the Community Forest Restoration Act (Act) (Pub. L. 106-393), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), (5 U.S.C. App. 2). Additional information on the Panel can be found by visiting the CFRP Web site at: https:// www.fs.usda.gov/goto/r3/cfrp.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension with a revision of a currently approved information collection that supports the Certified State Mediation Program. The information collection is necessary to ensure that the grant program is administered properly. The collection of information is used to determine whether participants meet the eligibility requirements to be a recipient of grant funds. Lack of adequate information to make the determination could result in the improper administration of Federal grant funds.

The rule titled Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC): Revisions in the WIC Food Packages was published on March 4, 2014. The Office of Management and Budget cleared the associated information collection requirements (ICR) on April 14, 2014. This document announces approval of the ICR.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS), an Agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development mission area, announces the availability of two individual grants: one single $500,000 grant from the rural transportation funds appropriated for the Rural Business Enterprise Grant (RBEG) program and another single $250,000 grant for Federally Recognized Native American Tribes' (FRNATs) (collectively ``Programs'') from funds appropriated for the RBEG program. RBS will administer these awards under the RBEG program and 7 U.S.C. 1932(c)(2) for fiscal year (FY) 2014. Each grant is to be competitively awarded to an eligible applicant which is a qualified national non-profit organization. One grant is for the provision of technical assistance to rural transportation (RT) projects and the other grant will be for the provision of technical assistance to RT projects operated by FRNAT's only. All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications.