REGULATORY:
Notice: Forest Service, USDA; The U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service is giving notice of its intent to close the Mark Twain National Forest to the hunting of feral swine in advance of the public comment period for the proposed closure. At the end of the notice of intent period, the Forest Service will solicit public comments, as specified in this notice, on the proposed forest order that would prohibit hunting of feral swine by the public on the Mark Twain National Forest in support of interagency efforts to eliminate feral swine across all land ownership in the State of Missouri. Info HERE
Notice of intent to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement: Forest Service, USDA; The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service, Okanogan-Wenatchee National Forest (OWNF), proposes to amend the Land and Resource Management Plans (Forest Plans) for the OWNF to provide forest plan direction for managing domestic sheep and goat grazing within the range of bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) to better provide for forest-wide bighorn sheep viability in the context of range management. This notice advises the public that the OWNF is gathering information necessary to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the effects of changing or adding plan components. Info HERE
Notice: Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), USDA; This is a request for information to gather detailed comments from stakeholders about the serious deficiency process in the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). The serious deficiency process provides a systematic way to correct serious management problems and, when that effort fails, protect the program through due process. Info HERE
Notice; request for comments; Rural Utilities Service, USDA; In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the United States Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), invites comments on this information collection for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Info HERE
Notice; request for comments: Rural Housing Service, USDA.; In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) invites comments on this information collection for Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program, for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested. The Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training (TAT) is a competitive grant program, which RHS administers. Section 306 of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act (CONACT), was amended by Section 6006 of the Agriculture Act of 2014 to establish the Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant. Section 6006 authorized grants be made to public bodies and private nonprofit corporations (including Indian Tribes) that will serve rural areas for the purpose of enabling the grantees to provide to associations technical assistance and training with respect to essential community facilities authorized under Section 306(a)(1) of the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act. Grants can be made for 100 percent of the cost of assistance. Info HERE
Notice; request for comments: Rural Housing Service, USDA; In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) invites comments on this information collection for Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program, for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested. The Community Facilities Technical In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Housing Service (RHS) invites comments on this information collection for Community Facilities Technical Assistance and Training Grant Program, for which the Agency intends to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) will be requested. The Community Facilities Technical Info HERE
Notice of revision to Non Land Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA) definition and invitation to request NLGCA designation: National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA; Section 7102 of the Agriculture Act of 2018 revises the definition of a Non Land Grant College of Agriculture and requires the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) ensure compliance with the revised definition by proposing revocation of Non Land Grant designations where prior designees do not comply with the new NLGCA definition. All institutions certified prior to December 21, 2018 must reapply for certification and meet the new criteria for NLGCA certification. NLGCA designation satisfies the eligibility requirement for the Capacity Building Grants for Non-Land Grant Colleges of Agriculture program. Info HERE
Notice: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is seeking comment on a draft revised method for conducting national level threatened and endangered (listed) species biological evaluations (BEs) for pesticides. EPA is also announcing a public meeting on June 10, 2019, where EPA will present the draft revised method and provide an additional opportunity for the public to provide feedback. Info HERE
Notice and request for comments: Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA; In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35), this notice announces the Agricultural Marketing Service’s (AMS) intention to request approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for a new information collection, “Application for Plant Variety Protection Certification and Objective Description of Variety—Asexually Reproduced Varieties.” Info HERE
Proposed rule: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve a request from Georgia for EPA to relax the federal Reid Vapor Pressure (RVP) standard applicable to gasoline introduced into commerce from June 1 to September 15 of each year for the following Georgia counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale (the “Atlanta RVP Area”). Specifically, EPA is proposing to amend the regulations to allow the RVP standard for the Atlanta RVP Area to change from 7.8 pounds per square inch (psi) to 9.0 psi for gasoline. EPA has preliminarily determined that this change to the federal RVP regulation is consistent with the applicable provisions of the Clean Air Act (CAA). Info HERE
Final rule: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); In accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the Lake County sulfur dioxide (SO2) nonattainment area from nonattainment to attainment. EPA is also approving Ohio’s maintenance plan, which Ohio submitted on April 9, 2018. EPA has approved Ohio’s State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Lake County, and the air quality in the area is meeting the SO2 standard. Info HERE
Final rule: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing three amendments to the existing National Oil and Natural Gas Federal Implementation Plan (National O&NG FIP). This final rule applies to new true minor sources and minor modifications at existing true minor sources in the oil and natural gas production and natural gas processing segments of the oil and natural gas sector that are locating or expanding in Indian reservations or in other areas of Indian country over which an Indian tribe, or the EPA, has demonstrated a tribe’s jurisdiction. The National O&NG FIP, which includes a mechanism for authorizing construction of true minor new and modified oil and natural gas sources, satisfies the minor source permitting requirement under the Federal Minor New Source Review (NSR) Program in Indian Country (Federal Indian Country Minor NSR rule). We are finalizing two amendments to apply the National O&NG FIP to the Indian country portion of the Uinta Basin Ozone Nonattainment Area. The purpose of these two amendments is make available the streamlined authorization to construct process provided by the National O&NG FIP to the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (U&O Reservation) as part of the Uinta Basin Ozone Nonattainment Area. We are also finalizing a minor technical correction to fix a typographical error in a provision of the National O&NG FIP. Info HERE
Final rule; technical amendments; Agricultural Marketing Service, USDA.; This final rule amends the Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information Order (Soybean Order) and the Beef Promotion and Research Order (Beef Order) to add provisions allowing producers subject to these Orders to request, under certain circumstances, that their assessments paid to a State board or council authorized under their respective statutes, be redirected to the national program. The final rule also makes technical amendments to the Beef Order. Info HERE