Commodity Credit Corporation May 2009 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) published in the Federal Register of January 15, 2009, an interim final rule with request for comment amending the program regulations for the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) to incorporate programmatic changes authorized by the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (2008 Act). On March 12, 2009, CCC corrected language in the interim final rule regarding the erroneous application of the payment limitation provisions to joint operations, and extended the comment period to April 17, 2009. This document amends the interim final rule by expanding the ability of CCC to include an expansion of the exception regarding conservation practices on public land. CCC is also using the opportunity presented by this rulemaking to extend the comment period. However, the extended comment period is limited to the provisions in this amendment.

This final rule amends the regulations to incorporate changes into three existing Technical Assistance for Specialty Crops (TASC) provisions. First, it increases the funding cap on individual proposals from $250,000 to $500,000 per year. Second, it increases the maximum duration of an activity from 3 years to 5 years. Finally, it increases the number of approved projects that a TASC participant can have underway at any given time, from three to five. The rule also makes other minor administrative changes to two other provisions for clarity.