Department of Agriculture September 2023 – 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 regulations for the commercial transportation of equines to slaughtering facilities.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS or the Agency), a Rural Development (RD) mission area of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), announces acceptance of applications under the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Disaster Circuit Rider Technical Assistance (CY 2022 Disaster CRTA) Grants Program. The Agency will have up to $8,000,000 in grant funding provided through the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023. Grant funds will be made available to qualified organizations to provide technical assistance on a national basis to rural communities and federally recognized tribes with water infrastructure systems damaged by CY 2022 Presidentially declared disasters. Purposes include supporting eligible communities, including federally recognized tribes, identified through the Presidential disaster declarations by providing on-site technical assistance to support post-disaster mitigation of eligible events, to identify and evaluate solutions to impacted water, wastewater, stormwater and solid waste challenges, help communities develop and prepare applications for water and waste loans and grants, deliver training and other resources to operators, managers, and other system personnel, and pay certain expenses associated with the provision of such services. Applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their application.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is issuing this notice announcing ELRP Phase 2. This document provides the eligibility requirements and payment calculation for the second phase of ELRP assistance. ELRP Phase 2 will provide assistance to eligible livestock producers for the loss of the value of winter forage from the deterioration of grazing cover due to a qualifying drought or wildfire during the 2021 normal grazing period, which has been exacerbated by a continued lack of precipitation. This document also makes a correction and amendment to ELRP Phase 1.

The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is issuing this notice announcing ELRP 2022. This document provides the eligibility requirements and payment calculation for ELRP 2022 assistance. ELRP 2022 will provide payments to producers who faced increased supplemental feed costs as a result of forage losses due to a qualifying drought or wildfire in calendar year 2022, using data already submitted to FSA through the Livestock Forage Disaster Program (LFP).

The Sanders Resource Advisory Committee (RAC) will hold two public meetings according to the details shown below. The Committee is authorized under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self- Determination Act (the Act) and operates in compliance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA). The purpose of the Committee is to improve collaborative relationships and to provide advice and recommendations to the Forest Service concerning projects and funding consistent with Title II of the Act as well as to make recommendations on recreation fee proposals for sites on the Lolo National Forest within Sanders County, consistent with the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act.

This final rule amends the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP) regulations by lowering the minimum identified student percentage (ISP) from 40 percent to 25 percent. Lowering the minimum ISP will give States and schools greater flexibility to offer meals to all enrolled students at no cost when financially viable. As a result of this rule, more schools are eligible to participate in CEP and experience the associated benefits, such as increasing students' access to healthy, no-cost school meals; eliminating unpaid meal charges; reducing stigma; and streamlining Program administration and meal service operations.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Farm Service Agency (FSA) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on a revision of a currently approved information collection that supports the Certified State Mediation Program. The information collection is necessary to ensure that the grant program is administered properly. The collection of information is used to determine whether participants meet the eligibility requirements to be a recipient of grant funds. Lack of adequate information to make the determination could result in the improper administration of Federal grant funds.

The Shoshone National Forest is proposing to establish multiple new recreation fee sites. Recreation fee revenues collected at the new recreation fee sites would be used for operation, maintenance, and improvement of the sites. An analysis of nearby recreation fee sites with similar amenities shows the recreation fees that would be charged at the new recreation fee sites are reasonable and typical of similar recreation fee sites in the area.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Forest Service (Forest Service or Agency) is seeking comments from all interested individuals and entities on reapproval of a currently approved information collection request for locatable minerals.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), the Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) is requesting comments from all interested individuals and organizations on an extension of a currently approved Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Customer Feedback on the Service Delivery (0560-0286). The Farm Service Agency (FSA) initially received the PRA approval for this information collection request and has expanded it to cover all four of the agencies in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Farm Production and Conservation (FPAC) mission area. FPAC uses the approval to cover the surveys, window pop-up surveys, focus groups, beta testing new or revised electronic systems, comment cards, and other information collection instruments or methods, which are designed to get customer feedback on service delivery for various programs administered by any of the FPAC agencies. This request for approval broadly addresses the need for information about what our customers think of our services so that we can improve service delivery; specific information collection activities will be incorporated into the approval as the need for the information is identified. For example, when we implement a new program and provide information about the services for the program on our website, we may provide a voluntary customer service questionnaire about how well the program is working for our customers, specifically within the area of customer service.

The Food and Nutrition Service is correcting a final rule that appeared in the Federal Register on August 23, 2023. The document implements statutory requirements and policy improvements to strengthen administrative oversight and operational performance of the Child Nutrition Programs.

In accordance with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, as amended, the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), is announcing a meeting of the Fruit and Vegetable Industry Advisory Committee (FVIAC). This meeting is being convened to examine the full spectrum of fruit and vegetable industry issues and provide recommendations and ideas on how USDA can tailor programs and services to better meet the needs of the U.S. produce industry. Agenda items may include, but are not limited to, administrative matters; presentations by subject matter experts as requested by the FVIAC; and consideration of recommendations pertaining to labor and production, food safety, infrastructure and sustainability, consumption and nutrition, and data reporting and analysis.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), an agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD), is making an initial announcement to invite applications for loans and grants under the Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program (RMAP) for fiscal year (FY) 2024, subject to the availability of funding. This notice is being issued prior to the passage of a FY 2024 Appropriations Act, which may or may not provide funding for this program, in order to allow applicants sufficient time to leverage financing, prepare and submit their applications, and give the Agency time to process applications within FY 2024. Based on FY 2023 appropriated funding, the Agency estimates that approximately $29,000,000 will be available for FY 2024. Successful applications will be selected by the Agency for funding and subsequently awarded to the extent that funding may ultimately be made available through appropriations. All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications or any costs incurred prior to the obligation date.

The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBCS or Agency), a Rural Development (RD) agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), invites applications for loans and grants under the Rural Economic Development Loan and Grant Programs (REDLG or Programs) for fiscal year (FY) 2024, subject to the availability of funding. This notice is being issued prior to the passage of a FY 24 Consolidated Appropriations Act, which may or may not provide funding for this program, to allow applicants sufficient time to leverage financing, prepare and submit their applications, and give the Agency time to process applications within FY 2024. Based on FY 2023 appropriated funding, the Agency estimates that approximately $90,000,000 will be available for FY 2024. Successful applications will be selected by the Agency for funding and subsequently awarded to the extent that funding may ultimately be made available through appropriations. All applicants are responsible for any expenses incurred in developing their applications.

We are amending the regulations for the importation of equines. These changes include increasing the number of days horses exported from regions free from contagious equine metritis (CEM) are allowed to spend in a CEM-affected region and enter the United States without testing from 60 days to 90 days; requiring an import permit for horses transiting through CEM-affected regions; adding requirements for health certifications to ensure health certifications properly attest to the health of the imported horse; requiring that horses transiting Central America or the West Indies comply with the same regulations that apply to horses directly imported from these regions; and adding requirements for shipping containers used in transporting horses. We are also adding a number of miscellaneous changes to the regulations such as clarifications of existing policy or intent, and corrections of inconsistencies or outdated information. Many of these changes will better align our regulations with international standards and allow us and the equine industry more flexibility. The changes will also add further safeguards that protect against introducing or disseminating pests or diseases of livestock into the United States.

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to request revision and extension of a currently approved information collection, the Agricultural Surveys Program. Revision to burden hours will be needed due to changes in the size of the target population, sampling design, and/or questionnaire length.

Cooperative agreement recipients of the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) plan to collect additional information from sub-grantee applicants associated with the Healthy Meals Incentive Initiative (HMI 2) related to School Food System Transformation. FNS already has approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for the collection of information associated with the original cooperative agreement under the Uniform Grant Application for Non-Entitlement Discretionary Grants, as approved under OMB Control Number: 0584-0512 (Expiration Date: July 31, 2025). This notice solicits public comment on the additional information proposed for collection.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) is reopening the comment period for 30 days to allow the public additional time to provide comments on the prevented planting provisions of the Common Crop Insurance Policy (CCIP), Basic Provisions published on May 23, 2023. Prevented planting is a feature of many crop insurance plans that provides a payment to cover certain pre-plant costs for a crop that was prevented from being planted due to an insurable cause of loss. FCIC is interested in public input on the following: additional prevented planting coverage based on harvest prices in situations when harvest prices are higher than established prices initially set by FCIC prior to planting; the requirement that acreage must have been planted to a crop, insured, and harvested, in at least 1 of the 4 most recent crop years; additional levels of prevented planting coverage; prevented planting coverage on contracted crops; and other general prevented planting questions.

This rule establishes provisions for providing agricultural disaster assistance as authorized by the Extending Government Funding and Delivering Emergency Assistance Act of 2021 and the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023. The assistance will be for 2020, 2021, and 2022 milk losses. The Milk Loss Program will provide payments to eligible dairy operations for milk that was dumped or removed without compensation from the commercial milk market due to disaster events including droughts, wildfires, hurricanes, floods, derechos, excessive heat, winter storms, freeze (including a polar vortex), and smoke exposure that occurred in the 2020, 2021, and 2022 calendar years. Additionally, the Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2023, also authorizes assistance for eligible milk losses due to tornadoes that occurred in 2022. This rule specifies the administrative provisions, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and payment calculations for the Milk Loss Program. This rule also makes corrections to Phase 2 of the Emergency Relief Program (ERP).

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, this notice announces the intention of the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) to request feedback from the general public on the ``Generic Clearance for the Collection of Qualitative Feedback on Agency Programs''. This collection was developed as part of a Federal Government-wide effort to streamline the process for seeking feedback from the public on service delivery. This notice announces our intent to submit this collection to OMB for approval and solicits comments on specific aspects for the proposed information collection.