[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 52 (Friday, March 15, 1996)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 10671-10672]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6116]
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Rules and Regulations
Federal Register
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This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains regulatory documents
having general applicability and legal effect, most of which are keyed
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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 52 / Friday, March 15, 1996 / Rules
and Regulations
[[Page 10671]]
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
Farm Service Agency
7 CFR Part 704
RIN 0560-AE56
1986-1990 Conservation Reserve Program
AGENCY: Farm Service Agency, USDA.
ACTION: Interim rule with request for comments.
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SUMMARY: This interim rule amends the program regulations to allow
holders of certain Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts that
expire September 30, 1996, the opportunity to request and receive early
release from contracts or to reduce the amount of acreage subject to
the contracts. The purpose of this action is to enhance the commodity
supply situation for the 1996/97 marketing year. Domestic stocks
relative to use of wheat, feed grains, and oil seeds are expected to be
at extremely low levels for the 1995/96 crop year. For corn, the
expected stocks to use ratio in the 1995/96 crop year is approximately
6 percent while the average stocks to use ratio from 1980 through 1994
was 30 percent. For wheat, the expected stocks to use ratio in the
1995/96 crop year is approximately 16 percent, while the average stocks
to use ratio from 1980 through 1994 was 43 percent. However, the
domestic and export demand for these commodities are expected to remain
strong during the 1996/97 crop year. The action is implemented to allow
acreage that can be brought back into production without adversely
impacting the environment to be released for crop production in 1996.
DATES: Effective Date: Interim rule effective March 15, 1996.
Comments: Comments on all items, except the information collection
requirements, must be received on or before April 15, 1996 in order to
be assured of consideration. Comments on the information collection
requirements must be received on or before May 14, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be mailed to Cheryl Zavodny, Farm Service
Agency, P.O. Box 2415, Ag Box Code 05l3, Washington, DC 20013-2415;
telephone 202-720-6304. Comments received may be inspected between 9
a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except holidays, in room 4768,
South Agriculture Building, United States Department of Agriculture,
14th Street and Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cheryl Zavodny, Conservation and
Environmental Protection Division, FSA, P.O. Box 2415, Room 4768-S,
Washington, DC 20013-2415.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Executive Order 12866
This interim rule has been determined to be significant and was
reviewed by OMB under Executive Order 12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
It has been determined that the Regulatory Flexibility Act is not
applicable to this interim rule because neither FSA nor the Commodity
Credit Corporation (CCC) is required by 5 U.S.C. 553 or any other
provision of law to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking with
respect to the subject matter of this rule.
Environmental Evaluation
It has been determined by an environmental evaluation that this
action will not adversely affect the environmental, historical, social,
or economic resources of the Nation. Therefore, it has been determined
that these actions will not require an Environmental Assessment or an
Environmental Impact Statement.
Executive Order 12372
This program is not subject to the provisions of Executive Order
12372, which require intergovernmental consultation with State and
local officials. See notice related to 7 CFR part 3015, subpart V,
published at 48 FR 29115 (June 24, 1983).
Federal Domestic Assistance Program
The title and number of the Federal Domestic Assistance Program, as
found in the Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance, to which this rule
applies, is the Conservation Reserve Program--10.069.
Paperwork Reduction Act
Revisions were made to the currently approved information
collection to reflect the Department's January 25, 1996, announcement
regarding early release provisions. Current approval by the Office of
Management and Budget (OMB) is located under control number 0560-0125.
Total public burden hours are based on the assumption that
approximately 10,000 requests will be received for early release in
1996.
Estimate of Burden: Public reporting burden for this collection of
information is estimated to average 30 minutes per response.
Respondents: Owners, operators, and other producers participating
in CRP.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 10,000.
Estimated Number of Responses per Respondent: 1.
Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 5,000 hours.
Comments are invited on: (a) whether the proposed collection
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the agency, including whether the information will have practical
utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information including the validity of the
methodology and assumptions used; (c) ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways
to minimize the burden of collection of information on those who are to
respond, including through the use of appropriate automated,
electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or
other forms of information technology. Comments may be sent to Desk
Officer for Agriculture, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
OMB, Washington, D.C., 20503 and to Cheryl Zavodny, Chief, Conservation
Programs Branch, Conservation and Environmental Protection Division,
USDA, FSA, P.O. Box 2415, Ag Box 0513, Washington, D.C., 20013, (202)
720-6304.
Copies of information collection may be obtained from Cheryl
Zavodny, Chief, Conservation Programs Branch, Conservation and
Environmental Protection Division, USDA, FSA, P.O.
[[Page 10672]]
Box 2415, Ag Box 0513, Washington, D.C., 20013, (202) 720-6304.
All responses to this notice will be summarized and included in the
request for OMB approval. All comments will also become a matter of
public record.
Executive Order 12778
This interim rule has been reviewed in accordance with Executive
Order 12778. The provisions of this rule are not retroactive and
preempt State and local laws to the extent such laws are inconsistent
with the provisions of this rule. Before any action may be brought in a
Federal court of competent jurisdiction, the administrative appeal
rights afforded program participants at 7 CFR part 780 must be
exhausted.
Request for Comments
Comments are requested with respect to this interim rule and such
comments shall be considered in developing the final rule.
Background
The current regulations in 7 CFR Part 704 and 7 CFR Part 1410
implemented the CRP, which is authorized by Title XII of the Food
Security Act of 1985, as amended. Contracts due to expire on September
30, 1996, are subject to the regulations found in 7 CFR Part 704.
The intent of the CRP is to permit the CCC to enter into contracts
with owners and operators of highly erodible and certain other cropland
to assist such owners and operators in conserving and improving the
Nation's soil and water resources and wildlife habitat. By entering
into a contract, the owner or operator agreed to implement an approved
conservation plan converting highly erodible cropland normally devoted
to the production of an agricultural commodity to a conserving use and
to a reduction in certain crop acreage bases, allotments, or quotas.
CCC provides (1) funds to support technical assistance by way of a
conservation plan, (2) financial assistance for the costs of
establishing the conservation practices required by the conservation
plan, and (3) annual land rental payments to compensate the owner or
operator for taking the cropland out of production.
The Department has announced that options to extend expiring
contracts will be announced before the early release signup period
begins, so that participants will have all the information to make
their CRP decisions.
Program Changes
The Secretary has determined that in order to enhance the commodity
supply situation for the 1996/97 marketing year, CRP participants with
certain acreage due to expire from CRP on September 30, 1996, may
release all or part of the acreage before the expiration date. This
interim rule provides authority to permit these CRP participants the
option of early termination with an effective date not to exceed
September 30, 1996, on certain acreage under CRP contract in whole or
in part, without penalty or obligation to refund previous payments
issued under the contract, provided the acreage released, if highly
erodible and if farmed, is farmed under an Alternative Conservation
System as determined by the Natural Resources Conservation Service
(NRCS). The conservation plan for such acreage will avoid measures more
restrictive than those of an Alternative Conservation System. If the
acreage is to be hayed or grazed, an approved haying or grazing plan
for the acreage will be developed by NRCS. Under previous early release
regulations, published as an interim rule on May 8, 1995, participants
requesting early release of acreage to be farmed were required to
obtain from NRCS and follow a more restrictive Basic Conservation
System. Crop acreage bases, allotments, and quotas will be reinstated
effective for the 1996 crop year.
CRP contract acreage which is not eligible for early termination
under this rule includes acreage subject to contracts due to expire
after September 30, 1996; acreage with an erodibility index (EI)
greater than 15, as determined by NRCS; acreage within an average of
100 feet of a stream or other permanent waterbody; acreage on which a
CRP easement is filed; and acreage on which there exist the following
practices installed or developed as a result of participation in CRP:
grass waterways, filter strips, shallow water areas for wildlife,
bottomland timber established on wetlands, field windbreaks, and
shelterbelts. Exclusion of these areas will contribute to continued
prevention of soil erosion and protection of water quality and certain
wildlife habitat.
Although CRP participants are not obligated to request early
release from their contracts, all signatories to the CRP contract must
agree to the release. Acreage released under this voluntary opportunity
will not be eligible for subsequent reenrollment. Further, acreage that
is not eligible for early release may not otherwise be removed from the
contract.
Because CRP participants are making planting decisions and wish to
carry out their plans as early as possible, it is necessary that this
regulation be effective upon publication. This action must be effective
immediately to provide participants the opportunity to finalize their
farming plans.
List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 704
Administrative practices and procedures, Base protection,
Conservation System, Contracts, Environmental indicators, Natural
resources, and Technical assistance.
Accordingly, 7 CFR Part 704 is amended as follows:
PART 704--1986-1990 CONSERVATION RESERVE PROGRAM
1. The authority citation for 7 CFR Part 704 continues to read as
follows:
Authority: 15 U.S.C. 714b and 714c; 16 U.S.C. 3801-3847.
2. Section 704.2 is amended by redesignating paragraphs (a)(12)
through (a)(24) as (a)(13) through (a)(25), respectively, and adding a
new paragraph (a)(12) to read as follows:
Sec. 704.2 Definitions.
(a) * * *
(12) Erodibility index (EI) means the factor calculated by the
Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture which is used to determine the inherent erodibility that a
soil possesses without management by dividing the potential average
annual rate of erosion for each soil by the predetermined soil loss
tolerance (T) value for the soil;
3. In Sec. 704.20, paragraph (a)(4) is amended by revising the
first sentence and by adding a new sentence at the end of the paragraph
to read as follows:
Sec. 704.20 Contract modifications.
(a) * * *
(4) Terminate contracts scheduled to expire on September 30, 1996
prior to the expiration date with an effective date no later than
September 30, 1996, provided the acreage released, if farmed, is farmed
under a conservation system as determined by the Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) or, if the acreage is to be hayed or
grazed, an approved haying or grazing plan is developed by the NRCS. *
* * In addition, for any land for which an early release is sought, the
land must have an EI of 15 or less.
Signed at Washington, DC, on March 11, 1996.
Bruce R. Weber,
Acting Administrator, Farm Service Agency.
[FR Doc. 96-6116 Filed 3-14-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-05-P
