Department of Agriculture March 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

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 Horse Protection Program and enforcement of the Horse Protection Act.

The Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing the first meeting of the Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production Advisory Committee (UAIPAC). UAIPAC was established to advise the Secretary on the development of policies and outreach relating to urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production practices; and other aspects of the implementation of Section 12302 of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill). UAIPAC will also develop recommendations and advise on policies, initiatives, and outreach administered by the Office of Urban Agriculture and Innovative Production (OUAIP); evaluate ongoing research and extension activities related to urban, indoor, and other innovative agricultural practices; identify new and existing barriers to successful urban, indoor, and other emerging agricultural production practices; and provide additional assistance and advice to OUAIP as appropriate.

The Santa Fe National Forest is proposing to charge new fees at recreation sites listed in Supplementary Information of this notice. Funds from fees would be used for operation, maintenance, and improvements of these recreation sites. An analysis of nearby developed recreation sites with similar amenities shows the proposed fees are reasonable and typical of similar sites in the area.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Rural Business-Cooperative Service's (RBCS or Agency), an agency within the United States Department of Agriculture, Rural Development, intention to request an extension of a currently approved information collection package for the Meat and Poultry Processing Expansion Program (MPPEP). The MPPEP program promotes competition and gives more and better options to producers by increasing meat and poultry processing capacity.

This rule removes the undesignated center headings in a part of the Code of Federal Regulations administered by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Further, this rule organizes the part's sections into subparts and adds designated subpart headings. This action is intended to make the part more readable and easier to amend in the future. Finally, these revisions are made to conform to Office of the Federal Register formatting requirements.

The Subcommittee on Aquaculture (SCA) is seeking public comment on a draft outline of the Strategic Plan for Aquaculture Economic Development (SPAED), and information on a planned update to the 1983 National Aquaculture Development Plan (NADP). The SCA is a statutory subcommittee that operates under the Committee on Environment of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) under the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the Executive Office of the President [National Aquaculture Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-362. 94 Stat. 1198, 16 U.S.C. 2801, et seq.) and the National Aquaculture Improvement Act of 1985 (Pub. L. 99-198, 99 Stat. 1641)]. In May of 2020, the SCA established a Task Force charged with developing the SPAED, and this Task Force is seeking public comment on a draft outline regarding the goals and objectives to be included. The draft outline is available at https://www.ars.usda.gov/SCA/. In addition, the National Aquaculture Act of 1980 required select federal agencies to develop, and update as necessary, the NADP. Last completed in 1983, the NADP describes aquaculture-associated technologies, problems, and opportunities in the United States and its territories. It recommends actions to solve problems, and analyzes the social, environmental, and economic impacts of growth in aquaculture. As announced in the Federal Register in August 2021, the SCA is updating the NADP, which will incorporate by reference the final and any subsequent updated versions of the National Strategic Plan for Aquaculture Research (NSPAR), the Strategic Plan to Enhance Regulatory Efficiency in Aquaculture (SPEREA), and the SPAED. The NSPAR and the SPEREA are in the final stages of review. Draft versions can be found at www.ars.usda.gov/sca, where final versions will be posted once approved. The SCA is seeking comments on additional topics to be covered in the NADP.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or the Agency), a Rural Development agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing a new fee structure for the Section 538 Guaranteed Rural Rental Housing Program (GRRHP) initial and annual guarantee fees.

The U.S. Codex Office is sponsoring a public meeting on June 2, 2022. 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 53rd Session of the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), which will convene virtually, July 4-July 13, 2022. The U.S. Manager for Codex Alimentarius and the Acting Deputy Under Secretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs recognize the importance of providing interested parties the opportunity to obtain background information on the 53rd Session of the CCPR and to address items on the agenda.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service's intention to request an extension of approval of an information collection associated with control of African swine fever and restrictions on the movement of swine products and swine byproducts from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The Forest Service (Agency), U.S. Department of Agriculture, published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on December 22, 2021, initiating a 60-day comment period on the proposed rule to amend existing regulations to charge a statutorily required annual programmatic administrative fee for new and existing communications use authorizations to cover the costs of administering the Agency's communications use program. The comment period for the original document closed February 22, 2022. The Agency is reopening the comment period for an additional 30 days from the date of publication of this document.

The Rural Housing Service (RHS or Agency), an agency in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development Mission area, published a proposed rule in the Federal Register on September 23, 2020, to amend its regulations for the Multi-Family Housing Direct Loans and Grants Programs to implement changes related to the development of a sustainable plan for the Rental Assistance (RA) program. Through this action, RHS is adopting the changes as proposed. The regulation updates are intended to provide additional RA program flexibility and transparency, and to improve the efficiency of managing assets in the Direct Loan portfolio.