Department of Agriculture February 26, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

We are advising the public that the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service has prepared an environmental assessment concerning authorization to ship for the purpose of field testing, and then to field test, an unlicensed Bursal Disease-Marek's Disease Vaccine, Serotype 3, Live Marek's Disease Vector. Based on the environmental assessment, risk analysis, and other relevant data, we have reached a preliminary determination that field testing this veterinary vaccine will not have a significant impact on the quality of the human environment. We are making these documents available to the public for review and comment.

The U.S Codex Office is sponsoring a public meeting on March 23, 2020. The objective of the public meeting is to provide information and receive public comments on agenda items and draft United States (U.S.) positions to be discussed at the 14th Session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods (CCCF) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, in Utrecht, the Netherlands, April 20-24, 2020. The U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius and the Under Secretary, Office of Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs, recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 14th Session of the CCCF and to address items on the agenda.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Forest Service is revising regulations to implement certain changes to the Small Tracts Act, enacted in the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018, also known as the 2018 Farm Bill. These statutory changes create a new category of lands eligible for conveyance outside of the National Forest System under the Small Tracts Act for parcels of 40 acres or less that are physically isolated, inaccessible, or have lost National Forest System character. The statutory changes also create a new category of lands eligible for conveyance involving parcels of ten acres or less that are not eligible for conveyance under previous eligibility conditions and are encroached on by a permanent habitable improvement for which there is no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent. These amendments to the Small Tracts Act are expected to provide the Forest Service with more flexibility for resolving property conflicts with private landowners, reduce the time and expense arising from a protracted boundary dispute, and alleviate management burden and expense to the Forest Service.