Department of Agriculture July 28, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) on a proposal to construct, operate and maintain a new electrical transmission line intertie that would extend west across the Tongass National Forest from the Petersburg area to the community of Kake. The proposed action is to construct a new transmission line, and associated features, that would transmit power at either 69 or 138 kilovolt (kV) and consist of single wood-pole structures with horizontal post insulators, with average span of lengths between poles of 350 to 400 feet. The proposed project would also include a 24-strand fiber optic communication cable. Construction access would be via existing roads, temporary shovel trails and matting panels, and temporary access spurs, with helicopter support as needed. The proposed project would cross National Forest System (NFS) lands in the Petersburg Ranger District of the Tongass National Forest. The length of the proposed electrical transmission line is approximately 60 miles and would follow a route identified as a Transportation and Utility Systems (TUS) land use designation (LUD) corridor; labeled ``Potential Power Transmission Corridor'' on the 2008 Tongass National Forest Land and Resource Management Plan (Forest Plan) LUD map. An estimated 59 percent, or 35.2 miles, of the overhead portion of the proposed transmission line would follow existing roads. No new road segments would be built; existing roads would be used for long-term maintenance access where possible.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) finalizes the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Pear Crop Insurance Provisions. The intended effect of this action is to improve coverage available to pear producers, to clarify existing policy provisions to better meet the needs of insured producers, and to reduce vulnerability to program fraud, waste, and abuse. Changes are also proposed to the Optional Coverage for Pear Quality Adjustment Endorsement to broaden coverage available to producers to manage their risk more effectively. The proposed changes will be effective for the 2015 and succeeding crop years.