Department of Agriculture 2018 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are proposing to amend the regulations to allow the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand into the continental United States. As a condition of entry, fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand would be subject to a systems approach that would include irradiation treatment, packinghouse processing requirements, and port of entry inspection. The fruit would also be required to be imported in commercial consignments and be accompanied by a phytosanitary certificate issued by the national plant protection organization of Thailand. This action would allow for the importation of fresh pummelo fruit from Thailand while continuing to provide protection against the introduction of plant pests into the continental United States.

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) 2018 for the Rural Broadband Access Loans and Loan Guarantees Program (the Broadband Program). RUS will publish on its website https://www.rd.usda.gov/newsroom/notices- solicitation-applications-nosas the amount of funding received through the final appropriations act. Since the passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill), RUS has only accepted applications according to discrete application windows as identified in notices published in the Federal Register. However, based on a review of the applications submitted since the implementation of the 2014 Farm Bill, RUS has determined that the use of application windows has not effectively supported the Agency's mission to finance improved broadband service in rural areas. As a result, RUS is accepting applications on a rolling basis throughout FY 2018. This will give RUS the ability to request additional information and modifications to a submitted application whenever necessary. Applications will be processed on a first come, first served basis. Every ninety (90) days, RUS will conduct an evaluation of the submitted applications. During the evaluation period, applications will be ranked based on the percentage of unserved households that the applicant proposes to serve. RUS anticipates that it will conduct at least two evaluation periods for FY 2018. Because the Agency will receive applications throughout the fiscal year, subsequent evaluation periods can alter the ranking of applications. In addition to announcing its acceptance of FY 2018 applications, RUS revises the minimum and maximum amounts for broadband loans for the fiscal year.

We are advising the public that we have determined that the State of Chihuahua, excluding the municipalities of Guadalupe y Calvo and Morelos, is free from fever ticks. Based on an evaluation of the fever tick status of this region, which we made available to the public for review and comment through a previous notice, the Administrator has determined that this region is free from fever ticks and that ruminants imported from the region present a low risk of exposing ruminants in the United States to fever ticks.

Pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), the Office of Advocacy and Outreach (OAO) is announcing a meeting of the Beginning Farmers and Ranchers Advisory Committee (BFRAC). USDA Secretary Perdue has outlined a bold agenda to help support farmers and ranchers that includes: Maximizing the ability of farmers and ranchers to produce and thrive as businesses, enhancing USDA's customer service, ensuring a food secure nation, and effectively stewarding our natural resources. Together, these principals will usher in empowerment among those in the rural agricultural communities, business growth and prosperity, and bright futures for the next generation for farmers and ranchers. The BFRAC will be pivotal in its liaison role that informs and advises the Secretary of actions that may be taken to further rural agriculture growth and support for our next generation of farmers and ranchers. The BFRAC will help ready the USDA to stay relevant for the next generation of customers and assist them with the challenges of today and those they will face in coming years. During this public meeting, the BFRAC will deliberate upon matters focused on, including but not limited to, the following: (1) Marketplace; (2) Monitoring and Evaluation; (3) Partnerships; and (4) Veteran farmers and ranchers. From these topics the BFRAC will deliberate and form its final set of recommendations for the current term. The BFRAC specifically seeks to engage and hear directly from a broad cross-section of beginning farmers, particularly from those farmers and ranchers in Florida (and neighboring states) on their experiences, pathways, and challenges as they entered into farming or ranching. We will want to hear about what was helpful, successful pathways, and barriers of entry or other challenges. We encourage all from the region to attend, including those from organizations who support farmers and ranchersseeking a large cross-section of farm type or farm size, geographic and ethnic diversity, and supporting organizations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service is seeking comments from all interested individuals and organizations on the renewal of the Stewardship Mapping and Assessment Project (STEW-MAP) information collection.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency) will obsolete (and reserve) the Truth in LendingReal Estate Settlement Procedures regulation to ensure compliance with the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) Integrated Mortgage Disclosures rule, commonly referred to as the TRID rule. This direct final rule will eliminate the functionally obsolete regulation in order to ensure compliance with the TRID rule, as the standard to follow.

The Eastern Region Recreation Resource Advisory Committee (Recreation RAC) will meet in Baltimore, Maryland. The Recreation RAC is authorized pursuant with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (the Act), and the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). Additional information concerning the Recreation RAC can be found by visiting the Recreation RAC's website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/main/ r9/recreation/racs.

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 revise the approved information collection for the FSIS Public Health Information System (PHIS) to include the FSIS standard export certificate forms 9060-5, 9060-5S, 9060-5A, and 9060-5B. The estimated burden will increase by 11,303 hours due to the addition of these export certificate forms. The approval for this information collection will expire on January 31, 2021.

The Collaborative Forest Restoration Program (CFRP) Technical Advisory Panel (Panel) will meet in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The Panel is established consistent with the Federal Advisory Committee Act of 1972 (FACA), and Title VI of the Community Forest Restoration Act (the Act). Additional information concerning the Panel, including the meeting summary/minutes, can be found by visiting the Panel's website at: https://www.fs.usda.gov/goto/r3/cfrp.

This amendment to NIFA regulations updates the list of institutions that are granted Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2017, and ending September 30, 2018.

This document amends the delegations of authority from the Farm Service Agency (FSA) Deputy Administrator of Farm Loan Programs (FLP). The change will specify that the Deputy Administrator redelegates certain authority to the State Executive Directors (SED). The change will also specify that SEDs may redelegate the authority to a Farm Loan Chief, Farm Loan Specialist, District Director, Farm Loan Manager, Senior Farm Loan Officer, Farm Loan Officer, Loan Analyst, Loan Resolution Specialist, or Program Technician to perform loan activities. This will ensure that certain loan documents can be signed off locally instead of requiring the FLP Deputy Administrator to have to sign off on certain loan documents.

We are restructuring the regulations governing the importation of plants for planting. In the new structure, restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting will no longer be found in the regulations, but instead will be found in the Plants for Planting Manual. We will make changes to the restrictions in the manual after taking public comment through notices published in the Federal Register. As part of this restructuring, we are grouping together restrictions in the plants for planting regulations that apply to the importation of most or all plants for planting, and we are adding general requirements for the development of integrated pest risk management measures that we may use to mitigate the risk associated with the importation of a specific type of plants for planting. We are also amending our foreign quarantine regulations to remove various provisions regarding the importation of specific types of plants for planting that are not currently subject to the general plants for planting regulations; these provisions will also be found in the Plants for Planting Manual. This action does not make any major changes to the restrictions that currently apply to the importation of plants for planting. These changes will make restrictions on the importation of specific types of plants for planting easier for readers to find and less cumbersome for us to change.

This document contains necessary amendments to address corrections in the final rule with request for comments for the Catastrophic Risk Protection Endorsement, the Area Risk Protection Insurance Basic Provisions, and the Common Crop Insurance Policy Basic Provisions which published in the Federal Register on November 24, 2017.

The Helena-Lewis and Clark National Forest, Lincoln Ranger District, Montana, intends to prepare a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement (SEIS) for the Stonewall Vegetation Project. The project area was impacted by wildfire in 2017 and a preliminary analysis of those effects has shown that supplemental analysis should be completed to assess the change in conditions resulting from the Park Creek Fire.

This document corrects an error introduced into our regulations by a final rule that was published in the February 14, 2018, Federal Register. The final rule used the Roman numeral (v) consecutively in a table. This document corrects the table by renumbering the last six items in the table.

This document directs that a referendum be conducted among eligible producers and importers of Christmas trees to determine whether they favor continuance of the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) regulations regarding a national Christmas tree research and promotion program.

We are notifying stakeholders and interested persons that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service is hosting a public meeting to provide information on the Agency's current thinking regarding low pathogenicity avian influenza (LPAI) indemnity, compensation, and controlled marketing. The meeting will include an overview of the concepts we are developing with respect to LPAI indemnity, compensation, and controlled marketing and provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss issues of interest.

We are amending the regulations governing the importation of plants for planting by authorizing the importation of Campanula spp. plants for planting from Denmark in approved growing media into the United States, subject to a systems approach. The systems approach will include measures that are currently specified in the regulations as generally applicable to all plants for planting authorized importation into the United States in approved growing media. This action will allow for the importation of Campanula spp. plants for planting from Denmark in approved growing media, while providing protection against the introduction of plant pests.

The Department of Agriculture adopts as final, without change, an interim rule that implemented a recommendation from the Administrative Committee for Pistachios (Committee) to decrease the assessment rate established for the 2017-18 and subsequent production years and administrative revisions to the subpart headings to bring the language into conformance with the Office of Federal Register requirements.

This rule revises the eligibility requirements for producer representatives on the Honey Packers and Importers Board (Board) and prescribes late payment and interest charges on past due assessments under the Agricultural Marketing Service's (AMS) regulation regarding a national research and promotion program for honey and honey products. This rule reduces the minimum production requirement for producers to serve on the Board and thereby allow more producers to be eligible to serve on the Board. This rule also prescribes late payment and interest charges on past due assessments to help facilitate program administration.

Consistent with Executive Order 13781, ``Comprehensive Plan for Reorganizing the Executive Branch,'' and using the authority of the Secretary to reorganize the Department under section 4(a) of Reorganization Plan No. 2 of 1953 the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is soliciting public comment on a proposed realignment of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights (OASCR), which will improve customer service, better align functions within the organization, and ensure improved consistency, resource management, and strategic decision-making.

This final rule withdraws the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices final rule published in the Federal Register on January 19, 2017, by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service. The existing organic livestock and poultry regulations remain effective.