2017-28433. Withdrawal of Certain Proposed Rules and Other Proposed Actions

AGENCY:

Office of the Secretary, USDA.

ACTION:

Notice of withdrawal.

SUMMARY:

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing that it has withdrawn certain advance notice of proposed rulemakings (ANPRM) and proposed rules that were either published in the Federal Register more than 4 years ago without subsequent action or determined to no longer be candidates for final action. USDA is taking this action to reduce its regulatory backlog and focus its resources on higher priority actions. The Department's actions are part of an overall regulatory reform strategy to reduce regulatory burden on the public and to ensure the Spring and Fall 2017 Unified Agendas of Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions provided the public accurate information about rulemakings the Department intends to undertake.

DATES:

The advance notice of proposed rulemakings and proposed rules are withdrawn on January 4, 2018.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Michael Poe, Telephone Number: [phone]. Email: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

USDA reviewed its pending proposed rules and other notices that published in the Federal Register more than 4 years ago, and for which no final rule or notice of withdrawal has been issued. The agency identified 14 such regulatory proposals for withdrawal. Additionally, USDA identified two proposed rules for withdrawal because they are not considered candidates for final action at this time.

Although not required to do so by the Administrative Procedure Act or by regulations of the Office of the Federal Register, the agency believes the public interest is best served by announcing in the Federal Register that it has withdrawn these 16 items. Therefore, for the reasons set forth above, USDA announces that it has withdrawn the following documents, published in the Federal Register on the dates indicated in the table below.

Agency	RIN	Title	Published action	Date	FR cite
FAS	0551-AA68	Quality Samples Program	NPRM	8/03/2006	71 FR 43992
FAS	0551-AA81	Export Sales Reporting Program	NPRM	3/19/2013	78 FR 16819
RUS	0572-AC21	Project Financing—Renewable Energy Loans	ANPRM	6/5/2013	78 FR 33755
RUS	0572-AC32	Rural Determination and Financing Percentage	NPRM	6/5/2013	78 FR 33757
APHIS	0579-AC28	Viruses, Serums, Toxins, and Analogous Products; Detection of Avian Lymphoid Leukosis Virus	NPRM	1/31/2007	72 FR 4467
APHIS	0579-AC65	Tuberculosis: Require Approved Herd Plans Prior to Payment of Indemnity	NPRM	7/24/2008	73 FR 43171
APHIS	0579-AD50	Forfeiture Procedures Under the Endangered Species Act and the Lacey Act Amendments	NPRM	5/21/2013	78 FR 29659
APHIS	0579-AD67	Chrysanthemum White Rust Regulatory Status Restrictions	ANPRM	8/3/2012	77 FR 46339
AMS	0581-AC83	Farmers' Market Promotion Program	NPRM	1/19/2011	76 FR 3046
AMS	0581-AD24	Hardwood Lumber and Hardwood Plywood Research and Promotion Program	NPRM	11/13/2013	78 FR 68297
AMS	0581-AD63	Soybean Promotion, Research, and Consumer Information; Beef Promotion and Research; Amendments to Allow Redirection of State Assessments to the National Program; Technical Amendments	NPRM	7/15/2016	81 FR 45984
FNS	0584-AC72	National School Lunch Program: Reimbursement for snacks in afterschool care programs	NPRM	10/11/2000	65 FR 60502
Forest Service	0596-AC46	Small Business Administration Timber Sale Set-Aside Program	NPRM	8/1/2006	71 FR 43435
Forest Service	0596-AC71	Proposed Directive on Groundwater Resource Management, Forest Service Manual 2560	NPRM	5/6/2014	79 FR 25824
Forest Service	0596-AC89	Enhancing Policies Relating to Partnerships	ANPRM	9/14/2010	75 FR 55710
Forest Service	0596-AD03	Management of Surface Activities Associated with Outstanding Mineral Rights on National Forest System Lands (Directive)	ANPRM	12/29/2008	73 FR 79424

The withdrawal of these proposals identified in this document does not preclude the Department from reinstituting rulemaking concerning the issues addressed in the proposals listed in the chart. Should we decide to undertake such rulemakings in the future, we will re-propose the actions and provide new opportunities for comment. Furthermore, this notice is only intended to address the specific actions identified in this document, and not any other pending proposals that USDA has issued or is considering. The Department notes that withdrawal of a proposal does not necessarily mean that the preamble statement of the proposal no longer reflects the current position of USDA on the matter addressed. You may wish to review the Department's website (http://www.USDA.gov) for any current guidance on these matter matters.

Dated: December 26, 2017.

Rebeckah Adcock,

Regulatory Reform Officer and Senior Advisor to the Secretary.