Department of Agriculture April 15, 2020 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment, Department of Agriculture has determined in accordance with paragraph 14(c) of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (NFMA) and Forest Service regulations that it is in the substantial overriding public interest (SOPI) to extend certain National Forest System timber sales, sale of property stewardship contracts, and forest product permits. This finding applies to timber sale, sale of property stewardship contracts, and forest product permits that were awarded or issued, before April 1, 2020, and upon award to sales with a bid opening prior to April 1, 2020. Extensions will be granted upon written request of the contract or permit holder, unless the Contracting Officer determines the wood products are in urgent need of removal due to forest health conditions or to mitigate a significant wildfire threat to a community, municipal watershed or other critical public resource. The Under Secretary finds in accordance with Forest Service regulations that better utilization of the various forest resources (consistent with the provisions of the Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960) will result by extending certain contracts and permits. Therefore, contract length may exceed 10 years as a result of this SOPI.

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 Clostridium Perfringens Type A Vaccine, Live Salmonella Vector. The environmental assessment, which is based on a risk analysis prepared to assess the risks associated with the field testing of this vaccine, examines the potential effects that field testing this veterinary vaccine could have on the quality of the human environment. Based on the risk analysis, 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, and that an environmental impact statement need not be prepared. We intend to authorize shipment of this vaccine for field testing following the close of the comment period for this notice unless new substantial issues bearing on the effects of this action are brought to our attention. We also intend to issue a U.S. Veterinary Biological Product license for this vaccine, provided the field test data support the conclusions of the environmental assessment and the issuance of a finding of no significant impact and the product meets all other requirements for licensing.