Department of Agriculture December 16, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (the Agency) Notice of Solicitation of Applications (NOSA) announces the acceptance of grant, guaranteed loan, and combined grant and guaranteed loan applications under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The REAP program helps agricultural producers and rural small businesses reduce energy costs and consumption and helps meet the Nation's critical energy needs. Applications for REAP may be submitted at any time throughout the year. This notice announces the deadlines, dates, and times that applications must be received in order to be considered for federal Fiscal Year (FY) 2023 REAP funds. The NOSA is being issued prior to passage of a final appropriations act for FY 2023 to allow potential applicants time to submit applications for financial assistance under the program and to give the Agency time to process applications within the current FY. All REAP applications competing for FY 2023 funding will be evaluated and scored according to the provisions listed in this Notice, unless otherwise amended via a subsequent FY 2023 Notice. Applicants who have already filed REAP applications for FY 2023 will be allowed to modify their application to revise the amount of grant requested and project budget and to provide additional information if necessary for application evaluation and scoring; the modification will not be treated as a new application, nor will it alter the submission date of record if there are no changes to the scope of the project. A planned second notice for FY 2023 is expected to address such matters as additional application deadlines, dates, and times, scoring modifications, as well as additional funding, including technical assistance and an amendment to the Federal grant portion not to exceed 50 percent of total eligible project costs per Inflation Reduction Act language.

On October 25, 2022, the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) revised the Walnut Crop Insurance Provisions. That final rule contained an incorrect instruction in the Settlement of Claim section. This document makes the correction.

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 the case-control study on highly pathogenic avian influenza in U.S. commercial turkey flocks.