Rural Utilities Service May 18, 2012 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Rural Utilities Service published a final rule in the Federal Register on June 24, 2011, which amended its regulations on Electric and Telecommunications Standards and Specifications for Materials, Equipment and Construction, by codifying specifications for wood poles, stubs and anchor logs, wood crossarms (solid and laminated), transmission timbers and pole keys, and for quality control and inspection of timber products. The Agency also updated these specifications to conform with revisions to the American Wood Preservers' Association (AWPA) standards and follow agency policy on insurance requirements. The document inadvertently published incorrect percentages that would require rejection or re-inspection of the entire lot of poles. This document corrects these errors.

The Rural Housing Service (Agency) is amending regulations on Community Facility Loans, to maintain consistency with standard industry contracts and to make minor revisions to streamline processing applications. These revisions are needed to conform to market and industry changes by updating, clarifying, and modifying the regulatory requirements for community facility construction and development. The amendments to the regulation will streamline current processes and provide for faster reviews of alternate construction contract methods (such as Design/Build and Construction Management) by the Agency's National Office.