7 CFR Chapter VI - NATURAL RESOURCES CONSERVATION SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

This proposed rule invites comments on a recommendation made by the California Olive Committee (Committee) to establish procedures to conduct meetings and voting using electronic means of communication.

This rulemaking proposes amendments to Marketing Order No. 981, which regulates the handling of almonds in California. The Almond Board of California (Board) recommended changing the dates associated with the process to nominate members to the Board as well as the start of the term of office of members of the Board. The Board also recommended adding authority to allow future revisions of the nomination methods and term of office start date through the development of regulations using informal rulemaking.

This rule implements a recommendation from the Fresh Pear Committee (Committee) to increase the assessment rate established for the 2018-2019 and subsequent fiscal periods. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This rule implements a recommendation from the Texas Valley Citrus Committee (Committee) to decrease the assessment rate established for the 2018-19 and subsequent fiscal periods. The assessment rate will remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS), a Rural Development agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, is amending its regulations for electric standards and specifications in Bulletin 1728F-806 (D-806), “Specifications and Drawings for Underground Electric Distribution,” which is incorporated by reference, to digitize RUS accounting, clarify RUS requirements, update current standards and practices, and improve customer service. This bulletin contains complete specifications settings forth the RUS requirements for constructing rural underground electric distribution systems using state-of-the-art materials, equipment, and construction methods.

This proposed rule would implement a recommendation from the California Date Administrative Committee (Committee) to increase the assessment rate for the 2018-19 and subsequent crop years for California dates handled under Marketing Order 987. The assessment rate would remain in effect indefinitely unless modified, suspended, or terminated.

This final rule amends Marketing Order No. 989 (Order), which regulates the handling of raisins produced from grapes grown in California. Five amendments were proposed by the Raisin Administrative Committee (RAC) and three were proposed by the Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS). Seven of the eight proposed amendments were favored by California raisin growers in a mail referendum, held December 4 through 15, 2017. This final rule also makes administrative revisions to subpart headings to bring the language into conformance with the Office of Federal Register requirements.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) finalizes the General Administrative Regulations; Subpart L—Reinsurance Agreement—Standards for Approval; Regulations for the 2019 and Subsequent Reinsurance Years. The intended effect of this action is to clarify and improve Subpart L to better align with the existing Standard Reinsurance Agreement (SRA) and Livestock Price Reinsurance Agreement (LPRA) and to eliminate language that is no longer relevant.

This final rule implements a recommendation from the Idaho-Eastern Oregon Potato Committee (Committee) to revise the varietal classifications that determine the size requirements for Irish potatoes grown in certain designated counties of Idaho, and Malheur County, Oregon. As provided under section 8e of the Agricultural Marketing Agreement Act of 1937, this modification also applies to all imported long type Irish potatoes. This final rule also makes administrative revisions to the subpart headings to bring the language into conformance with the Office of Federal Register requirements.

As part of a final rule published in the Federal Register on October 5, 2012, we amended and republished the list of select agents and toxins that have the potential to pose a severe threat to animal or plant health, or to animal or plant products. In that final rule we removed bovine spongiform encephalopathy agent from the list of select agents or toxins, but we neglected to remove it from the list of those select agents or toxins whose seizure must be reported within 24 hours by telephone, facsimile, or email. We are remedying that oversight in this document. We are also updating the name of another select agent to reflect its most current scientific classification, correcting a typographical error, and updating the name of a guidance document referenced in the regulations.

This rule implements a recommendation from the Cherry Industry Administrative Board (Board) to establish free and restricted percentages, or the proportion of 2017 tart cherries which may be handled in commercial outlets, for the 2017-18 crop year under the Marketing Order for tart cherries grown in the states of Michigan, New York, Pennsylvania, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wisconsin.

We are proposing to remove the domestic quarantine regulations for the plant pest emerald ash borer. This action would discontinue the domestic regulatory component of the emerald ash borer program as a means to more effectively direct available resources toward management and containment of the pest. Funding previously allocated to the implementation and enforcement of these domestic quarantine regulations would instead be directed to a nonregulatory option of research into, and deployment of, biological control agents for emerald ash borer, which would serve as the primary tool to mitigate and control the pest.

The Federal Crop Insurance Corporation (FCIC) amends the Common Crop Insurance Regulations, Sugar Beet Crop Insurance Provisions (Crop Provisions). The intended effect of this action is to update existing policy provisions and definitions to better reflect current agricultural practices. The changes will be effective for the 2019 and succeeding crop years in states with a November 30 contract change date and for the 2020 and succeeding crop years in all other states.

The Rural Utilities Service (RUS) is issuing a final rule to conform with newly implemented uniform posting requirements for federal grants, so that interested applicants need only search one federal posting site on grant opportunities.