Department of Agriculture January 2017 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

Designation of Fremont Grain Inspection Department, Inc. To provide Class X or Class Y Weighing Services
Document Number: 2017-00203
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-10
Agency: Department of Agriculture
GIPSA is announcing the designation of Fremont Grain Inspection Department, Inc. (Fremont) to provide Class X or Class Y weighing services under the United States Grain Standards Act (USGSA), as amended.
Announcement of Grant Application Deadlines and Funding Levels
Document Number: 2017-00194
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-10
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an 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) 2017. In addition, this NOSA announces the minimum and maximum Community Connect grant amounts, the funding priority, the application submission dates, the agency contact information, and the procedures for submission of paper and electronic applications. RUS will publish the amount of funding received in the final appropriations act on its Web site at https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/ notices-solicitation-applications-nosas. Applicants can review the Community Connect Grant Program regulation at 7 CFR part 1739 (Subpart A).
Scope of Sections 202(a) and (b) of the Packers and Stockyards Act
Document Number: C1-2016-30424
Type: Rule
Date: 2017-01-09
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration
Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees Program
Document Number: 2017-00137
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-09
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Rural Utilities Service
The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces that it is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2017 for the Rural Broadband Access Loan and Loan Guarantee program (the Broadband Program). There will be two application windows for FY 2017. In addition to announcing the application windows, RUS announces the minimum and maximum amounts for broadband loans for FY 2017.
Local School Wellness Policy Implementation Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010; Approval of Information Collection Request
Document Number: 2016-31954
Type: Rule
Date: 2017-01-09
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
The final rule titled Local School Wellness Policy Implementation Under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 was published on July 29, 2016. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) cleared the associated information collection requirements (ICR) on September 12, 2016. This document announces approval of the ICR.
Information Collection; Significant Cave Nomination
Document Number: 2017-00061
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-06
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a new information collection, Significant Cave Nominations under the Federal Cave Resources Protection Act (FCRPA).
Notice of Availability of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline Project and Supply Header Project Draft Environmental Impact Statement and the Forest Service Draft of Associated Land and Resource Management Plan Amendments
Document Number: 2017-00008
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-06
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
In accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), as amended; the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976, as amended; and the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA), as amended; the Forest Service (FS), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) Great Dismal Swamp, West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (WVDNR), and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) have participated as cooperating agencies with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) in the preparation of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline (ACP) and Supply Header Project (SHP) Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The Draft EIS addresses: (1) The impacts of these projects, (2) the associated draft amendments to the Land and Resource Management Plans (LRMPs) for the Monongahela National Forest (MNF) and George Washington National Forest (GWNF), and (3) the proposal for authorization from the Forest Service to construct, operate, maintain, and eventually decommission a natural gas transmission pipeline that crosses National Forest System (NFS) lands. With this agency-specific Notice of Availability, the FS is announcing the opening of the FERC comment period. Comments submitted to the FERC concerning FS actions need to be timely and specific, showing a direct relationship to the proposal and include supporting reasons.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP): Eligibility, Certification, and Employment and Training Provisions of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008
Document Number: 2016-30663
Type: Rule
Date: 2017-01-06
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
This final rule implements provisions of the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA) affecting the eligibility, benefits, certification, and employment and training (E&T) requirements for applicant or participant households in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). The rule amends the SNAP regulations to: Exclude military combat pay from the income of SNAP households; raise the minimum standard deduction and the minimum benefit for small households; eliminate the cap on the deduction for dependent care expenses; index resource limits to inflation; exclude retirement and education accounts from countable resources; clarify reporting requirements under simplified reporting; permit States to provide transitional benefits to households leaving State-funded cash assistance programs; allow States to establish telephonic and gestured signature systems; permit States to use E&T funds to provide job retention services; and update requirements regarding the E&T funding cycle. These provisions are intended to more accurately reflect needs, reduce barriers to participation, and improve efficiency in the administration of the program. This rule also replaces outdated language in SNAP certification regulations with the new program name and updates procedures for accessing SNAP benefits in drug and alcohol treatment centers and group living arrangements with use of electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards. This rule provides States with regulatory options for conducting telephone interviews in lieu of face-to-face interviews and for averaging student work hours. Finally, the Department is issuing an interim final rule (with a request for additional comment) that will require that drug and alcohol treatment and group living arrangements (GLA) centers to: Submit completed change report forms to the State agency when a resident leaves the center; notify the State agency within 5 days when the center is not able to provide the resident with their EBT card at departure; and return EBT cards to residents with pro-rated benefits based up on the date of their departure.
Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comments Request-Evaluation of the School Meal Data Collection Process
Document Number: 2016-31953
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-05
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
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 collection is a new collection. The primary purpose of this study is to provide FNS with a description and evaluation of the methodologies and processes used to collect and report program data via the FNS-10, FNS-742, and FNS-834 forms.
Notice of Request for a New Information Collection: State Meat and Poultry Inspection Programs
Document Number: 2016-31930
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-05
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food Safety and Inspection Service
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 and Office of Management and Budget (OMB) regulations, the Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) is announcing its intention to collect information from federally-assisted State Meat and Poultry Inspection programs to ensure that their programs operate in a manner that is at least equal to FSIS's Federal inspection program in the protection of public interest; comply with requirements of Federal Civil Rights laws and regulations; meet necessary laboratory quality assurance standards and testing frequencies; and have the capability to perform microbiology and food chemistry methods that are ``at least equal to'' methods performed in the FSIS laboratories.
Revisions and Clarifications in Requirements for the Processing of Donated Foods
Document Number: 2016-31561
Type: Proposed Rule
Date: 2017-01-05
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service
This rule proposes to revise and clarify requirements for the processing of donated foods in order to: Incorporate successful processing options tested in demonstration projects, ensure accountability for donated foods provided for processing, and increase program efficiency. The rule would require multi-State processors to enter into National Processing Agreements to process donated foods into end products, permit processors to substitute commercially purchased beef and pork of U.S. origin and of equal or better quality for donated beef and pork, and would increase oversight of inventories of donated foods at processors. The rule also revises regulatory provisions in plain language, to make them easier to read and understand.
Bridger-Teton Resource Advisory Committee
Document Number: 2016-31869
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-04
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
The Bridger-Teton Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Kemmerer, Wyoming and Afton, Wyoming. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (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. RAC information can be found at the following Web site: https:// www.fs.usda.gov/main/btnf/workingtogether/advisorycommittees.
Bridger-Teton Resource Advisory Committee
Document Number: 2016-31867
Type: Notice
Date: 2017-01-04
Agency: Department of Agriculture, Forest Service
The Bridger-Teton Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will meet in Kemmerer, Wyoming and Afton, Wyoming. The committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act (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. RAC information can be found at the following Web site: https:// www.fs.usda.gov/main/btnf/workingtogether/advisorycommittees.
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