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

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is amending Farm Loan Programs (FLP) loan making and servicing regulations to reflect several changes required by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill). The changes were implemented administratively upon the passage of the 2014 Farm Bill; this rule makes conforming amendments in the FSA regulations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request a revision to and extension of approval of an information collection associated with the regulations for the importation of animals and animal products and byproducts to protect against the introduction of bovine spongiform encephalopathy into the United States.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for a study of USDA Foods in Schools Cost Dynamics.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to renew a currently approved information collection regarding the regulatory requirements for marking, labeling, and packaging of meat, poultry, and egg products and for establishments that produce mechanically separated poultry. This approval covers the labeling approval process whereby establishments are to submit their labels to FSIS for approval or maintain files related to generic labeling. This package also covers the recordkeeping burden for packaging material letters of guarantee for safety. Lastly, this package contains the recordkeeping burden imposed on establishments that produce mechanically separated poultry. There are no changes to the existing information collection.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice invites the general public and other public agencies to comment on this proposed information collection. This is a new collection for the contract Evaluation of Demonstration Projects to End Childhood Hunger.

The Plant Variety Protection Office (PVPO) is seeking candidates for the Plant Variety Protection Board (PVP Board). The PVP Board consists of 14 members, each of whom is appointed for a 2-year period, with no member appointed for more than three 2-year periods. The term of the present Board will expire in May 2015. In order to provide the Secretary of Agriculture with a broad choice from a diverse group of applicants, the PVPO is asking for nominated members to serve on the Board for 2 years from the date of appointment. PVP Board members will serve without compensation, except for standard government reimbursable expenses.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (Agency) announces the acceptance of applications under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) which is designed to help agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs and consumption and help meet the Nation's critical energy needs. REAP has two types of funding assistance: Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvements Assistance, and Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grants. The Renewable Energy Systems and Energy Efficiency Improvement Assistance provides grants and guaranteed loans to agricultural producers and rural small businesses to purchase and install renewable energy systems and make energy efficiency improvements to their operations. Eligible renewable energy systems for REAP provide energy from: Wind, solar, renewable biomass (including anaerobic digesters), small hydro-electric, ocean, geothermal, or hydrogen derived from these renewable resources. The Energy Audit and Renewable Energy Development Assistance Grant is available to a unit of State, Tribal, or local government; instrumentality of a State, Tribal, or local government; institution of higher education; rural electric cooperative; a public power entity; or a council, as defined in 16 U.S.C. 3451. The recipient of grant funds, (grantee), will establish a program to assist agricultural producers and rural small businesses with evaluating the energy efficiency and the potential to incorporated renewable energy technologies into their operations.

The Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing that the National Advisory Committee on Meat and Poultry Inspection (NACMPI) will hold a public meeting on January 13 and 14, 2015, to review and discuss FSIS's identification and management of chemical hazards within the National Residue Program (NRP). The NRP is an interagency program administered by FSIS that is designed to identify, rank, and test for chemical contaminants in meat, poultry, and egg products. FSIS is seeking input on whether or not it should change the way it categorizes chemical hazards and allocates resources. NACMPI will also review and discuss the Cost Calculation Model that FSIS developed with the Economic Research Service (ERS), which provides detailed data about the costs of major foodborne illnesses in the United States.

The Rio Grande National Forest, located in south central Colorado, is initiating the forest planning process pursuant to the 2012 Forest Planning Rule (36 CFR 219). This process results in a Forest Land Management Plan which describes the strategic direction for management of forest resources for the next fifteen to twenty years on the Rio Grande National Forest. The first phase of the process, the assessment phase, has begun and interested parties will be invited to contribute to the development of the assessment (36 CFR 219.6). The Forest hosted a series of informational meetings with key stakeholders and the public in the fall of 2014, and will be hosting additional meetings between January and June 2015. Additional information on public participation opportunities will be available on the project Web site: https://www.fs.usda.gov/riogrande. The trends and conditions identified in the assessment will help in identifying the need for change, in the development of plan components.

The Shasta-Trinity National Forest (STNF) will prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) to document and publicly disclose the environmental effects of implementing a hazardous fuels reduction project on approximately 5,327 acres of National Forest System lands. Activities are proposed within the wildland urban interface or WUI (the zone where structures and other human developments meet, or intermingle with, undeveloped wild lands) of the community of Burnt Ranch, California as well as the Corral Late Successional Reserve (LSR). The proposed project would provide the Burnt Ranch community and the LSR with enhanced protection from catastrophic wildfire and increased fire fighter and public safety. The proposal includes thinning trees from below in overcrowded stands, plantations and along roadsides. Some thinning would be accomplished through commercial timber harvest of sawtimber and/or biomass as well as from prescribed burning. The Burnt Ranch Fire Resilient Community Project is located in sections 5, 4, 3, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 33, 34, and 35 in T. 5 N., R. 6 E.; sections 19 and 30 in T. 5 N., R. 7 E., sections 1, 2, 3, 11 and 12 in T. 4 N., R. 6 E. Humboldt Meridian.

The Office of the Under Secretary for Food Safety, U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition (CFSAN) are sponsoring a public meeting on February 5, 2015. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions that will be discussed at the 36th Session of the Codex Committee on Methods of Analysis and Sampling (CCMAS) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), taking place in Budapest, Hungary, February 23-27, 2015. The Deputy Under Secretary for Food Safety and the Food and Drug Administration recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 36th Session of CCMAS and to address items on the agenda.

The National Urban and Community Forestry Advisory Council (Council) will meet in Washington, DC The Council is authorized under Section 9 of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act, as amended by Title XII, Section 1219 of Public Law 101-624 (the Act) (16 U.S.C. 2105g) and the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. App. II). Additional information concerning the Council, can be found by visiting the Council's Web site at: https://www.fs.fed.us/ucf/ nucfac.shtml. The meeting is open to the public.

The Black Hills National Forest Advisory Board (Board) will meet in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Board is established consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (5 U.S.C. App. II), the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et. seq.), the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1612), and the Federal Public Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (Pub. L. 108-447). Additional information concerning the Board, including the meeting summary/minutes, can be found by visiting the Board's Web site at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/blackhills/ workingtogether/advisorycommittees.

The Rural Utilities Service, a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), herein referred to as RUS or the Agency, announces its Community Connect Grant Program application window for Fiscal Year (FY) 2015. This notice is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act to allow potential applicants time to submit proposals and give the Agency time to process applications within the current fiscal year. RUS will publish on its Web site the amount of funding received in any continuing resolution or the final appropriations act, if any. Expenses incurred in developing applications will be at the applicant's risk. In addition to announcing the application window, RUS announces the minimum and maximum amounts for Community Connect grants applicable for the fiscal year. The Community Connect Grant Program regulations can be found at 7 CFR 1739, subpart A.

This proposal would modify the organic assessment exemption regulations under 23 Federal marketing orders and 22 research and promotion programs. The current regulations would be amended to allow persons that produce, handle, market, or import certified organic products to be exempt from paying assessments associated with commodity promotion activities, including paid advertising, conducted under a commodity promotion program administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). The exemption would cover all ``organic'' and ``100 percent organic'' products certified under the National Organic Program regardless of whether the person requesting the exemption also produces, handles, markets, or imports conventional or nonorganic products. Currently, only persons that exclusively produce and market products certified as 100 percent organic are eligible for an exemption from assessments under commodity promotion programs. The authority for this proposal is in section 10004 of the Agricultural Act of 2014.

This rule implements changes to the Noninsured Crop Disaster Assistance Program (NAP) as required by the Agricultural Act of 2014 (the 2014 Farm Bill), including changes to eligible crops, provisions governing eligibility of native sod acreage, additional coverage levels, and waivers of service fees and premium reductions for beginning, limited resource, and socially disadvantaged producers. This rule also clarifies requirements for eligible types and causes of loss and expands coverage for eligible mollusk and other aquaculture losses. This rule clarifies that the Farm Service Agency (FSA) may set separate market prices for organic crops and for direct to consumer sales. The changes are relatively minor and do not change the core purpose of NAP, which is to provide financial assistance to producers of non-insurable crops when low yield, loss of inventory, or prevented planting occurs due to a natural disaster.

The USDA Forest Service will prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS9) to document the analysis and disclose environmental impacts of proposed actions needed to continue long-term research on the Fernow Experimental Forest. To continue long-term research on the Fernow Experimental Forest, the USDA Forest Service proposes to harvest timber, use prescribed fire, and apply fertilizer to specific areas of the experimental forest. Also, to maintain the integrity of the experimental forest for long-term research we will continue the following management activities: Applying gravel to road surfaces as needed; replacing culverts on skid roads and haul roads as needed; maintaining water bars on skid roads; maintaining ditches and culverts; seeding decks and landings; using herbicides to control the spread of Japanese stiltgrass and other invasive species such as tree-of-heaven as needed; removing hazard trees from along the roads; and maintaining openings used for weather stations. The purpose of the research is to evaluate the effectiveness of silvicultural tools on central Appalachian forests, to better understand ecological dynamics within these forest ecosystems, and to develop management tools, practices, and guidelines for central Appalachian forests. The 4,700-acre Fernow Experimental Forest is situated with the boundary of eth Monongahela National Forest in Tucker County, West Virginia and is managed by the Northern Research Station of eth USDA Forest Service. These proposed research activities are in compliance with the 2006 revised in 2011 Monongahela National Forest Plan, which provides overall guidance for management of the area, including direction for management of the Fernow Experimental Forest.

This interim rule with request for comment amends the existing Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) regulation to incorporate programmatic changes as authorized by amendments in the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Act).

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) seeks to issue a Department-wide regulation to implement the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (``Age Act''), and the Government-wide age discrimination regulation promulgated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Age Act and HHS regulations prohibit age discrimination in programs and activities receiving Federal financial assistance. The proposed rule intends to ensure compliance with the Age Act and HHS regulations and provide guidance to USDA agencies, employees, recipients, and beneficiaries on Age Act requirements. In the final rule section of this issue of the Federal Register, USDA is publishing this action as a direct final rule without prior proposal because USDA views this as a non-controversial action and expects no adverse comments. If no adverse comments are received in response to the direct final rule, no further action will be taken on this proposed rule, and the action will become effective at the time specified in the direct final rule. If USDA receives adverse comments, a timely document will be published withdrawing the direct final rule, and all public comments received will be addressed in a subsequent final rule based on this action.

The Department of Agriculture (USDA) is adopting, as a final rule, without change, an interim rule that decreased the assessment rate established for the California Date Administrative Committee (committee) for the 2014-15 and subsequent crop years from $0.40 to $0.20 per hundredweight of dates handled. The committee locally administers the marketing order, which regulates the handling of dates grown or packed in Riverside County, California. The interim rule decreased the assessment rate due to a significant decrease in the committee's budgeted expenses. The interim rule was necessary to allow the committee to reduce the assessment rate for the 2014-15 crop year.

The Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the new information collection, Good Neighbor Agreements with State Cooperators.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Rural Housing Service (RHS), intention to request an extension for a currently approved information collection in support of compliance with Civil Rights laws.

We are reopening the comment period for our proposed rule that would amend our regulations governing the importation and interstate movement of fruits and vegetables by broadening our existing performance standard to provide for approval of all new fruits and vegetables for importation or interstate movement into or within the United States using a notice-based process. This action will allow interested persons additional time to prepare and submit comments.